Using TFT for Self-Healing Through Service to Others

YONI
by Yoniray Donis, TFT-AVT, Algo Trainer

One of our goals when creating the Self-Healing Foundation was to see if we could inspire people who were impacted by the incredible results they got from TFT to in turn help others. We compared it to a wave of good energy we could help create that would move through our troubled world. What we found, quite remarkably, is that “acts of loving kindness, acts of complete benevolence, dramatically impact the healing process”. We found that energetically speaking, one completes an incredible shift in their own consciousness by going from the recipient of help to the giver of help.

Psychologically, the richness of self-sacrifice, teaching and helping others creates a phenomenal catharsis in the individual. Through the group efforts at an event, we could channel this experience through what we called “missions”. At our first healing conference in Bogota Colombia IN 2024, after several days of healing seminars and higher level teaching, we embarked with 25 participants on a mission to a cancer center and an orphanage. We piled into vehicles and when we arrived at the orphanage, it felt like we had mobilized a healing army of motivated individuals who were eager to donate their time and efforts for the children.

Laura Rodriguez, leader at the orphanage explained that these beautiful children had often come from abusive homes, environments, some even had bite marks or scars on their faces. It struck you immediately how it touched your heart just to be in proximity and the enormity of what we were to undertake dawned on us. It was unprecedented. The administrators were so curious that at first we were to only see a handful of these souls. To our amazement they had assembled a small army of children and we met them in what they called “the jungle”. Basically, “the jungle” was a large outdoor area where they could blow off steam and play. Herding them into a group and engaging them actually took the combined efforts of all 25 TFT trained volunteers who were eager to engage the children. One child immediately plopped into the lap of my partner and co-founder of the Foundation and said “Are you going to be my poppy?” and for the rest of the stay followed him like an eager puppy and sat in his lap smothering him in hugs.

We had created the wonderful tapping song which Joanne  Callahan had graciously uploaded onto this site which engages children through song to follow the tapping sequence. Incredibly the children ate up the teaching, began singing and loved the “King Kong” tapping sequence and as a group you could feel something magical was occurring. Here we were, the people of our Foundation from a dozen countries across the world, together, a small army with only kindness in mind, helping teach TFT healing techniques to these very deserving children. They actually loved it!

Unlike adults, the children put their little hearts and souls into it and began to experience benefits. The administrators watched us because they were worried so many children would be unmanageable. In only a short while the mob of eager rambunctious children had become a very placated, quiet group. Everyone noticed an incredible shift in their energy and focus. They were totally engaged. We taught them the tapping sequence, and explained that this was their special skill they could use whenever they felt troubled and could employ their new skills to lift their troubles. They were very excited.

As a group, the concept of helping these children, of spreading this good energy and knowledge had incredibly lifted our souls as well. To be of service was incredibly uplifting and to see the tangible results was incredible. As the children finally left “the jungle” to return to the dormitory for dinner, the administrator of the orphanage came over to us and said: “I have just witnessed a miracle, these children never come from the jungle into the dormitory calmly. And here they are so peaceful and content. You must teach this marvelous TFT healing to all our orphanages in Colombia”. As our group of 25 TFT-trained instructors piled back into the vans to leave the orphanage throughout our teaching group you heard the same words… “That was the most uplifting and important thing I’ve ever done”. Thank you Dr. Roger and Joanne Callahan for this marvelous gift you have taught us which we had the privilege of sharing through our Healing Foundation

Notes: TFT-trained volunteers were trained in the Stress Reduction Technique

 

TFT to be Used in Double-blind Randomized Controlled study with Women in camps for Internally displaced people (IDP) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

TFT practitioners have been bringing post-disaster trauma relief to places in the United States such as Charity and Oshener Hospitals after Hurricane Katrina, and training local therapists following the shootings at Columbine High School. TFT Practitioners in Japan also utilized TFT to help others in the aftermath of the Fukushima Earthquake and the resulting Tsunami. However, TFT practitioners have been especially active in low and middle-income countries such as Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Mexico, and more recently the Kurdistan Region of Iraq where researchers found that Kurdish refugees responded better to TFT than CBT. Now, Professor and researcher Pegah Seidi will be leading a double-blind randomized controlled study with Women in camps for Internally displaced people (IDP). These camps are now home to just under one million IDPs from surrounding areas including Syria.

The study will begin during the second week of June, with the training of lay people residing in the camps to deliver the TFT interventions. The participants in the study will be adult women who are suffering from trauma. One group of participants will be an active waitlist group and receive relaxation exercises and the other group will receive the TFT treatments.  There will be post-testing one week after the treatments and follow-up assessments three months later. We are excited to be able to offer TFT to a group of people who have suffered through several wars and somehow survived. We will keep everyone posted as things progress and of course, donations are always welcome. This is going to be a lot of people to eventually treat!

Suzanne Connolly, LICSW, will be in charge of treatment fidelity and supervise.  She will register the study and ensure it meets high standards for finding a home in a top journal. She will help write up the study.  Please help us and contribute to this humanitarian and research project.  DONATE

Doing Good TFT Research

The video above is from last year’s Keynote presentation by Suzanne Connolly on the ins and outs of doing good research. It wasn’t filmed so she had it filmed later because so many had asked for a copy.

As the TFT community, we want good research!! It is currently getting included in more literature reviews and meta-analyses. In the past, some of the TFT research conducted in other countries was of poor quality so we hope this excellent presentation, from an experienced TFT researcher, and may help encourage and guide others to do research.

Suzanne has said that she is willing to assist anyone doing TFT research (not do the work, but point them in the right direction. The research she has been involved in is getting better as she learns from past mistakes. The video is an effort to help others learn from those mistakes as well.

A Treatment Modality to Reduce Trauma-Induced Distress Among Adults Diagnosed with a Substance Use Disorder

A recent research study was done at SpiritLife Treatment Facility regarding the use of TFT. This study was prepared for the Pittsburgh School of Social Work and Research by Jennifer Cribbs

Click here to view

Thought Field Therapy Stress Reduction Protocol

The Effects of a Thought Field Therapy Stress Reduction Protocol on the Stress and Empathy Levels of Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

In a new longitudinal randomized control study by Hadas Keppel, PhD. , a Thought Field Therapy (TFT) protocol was found to reduce general stress and increase perspective-taking in parents of children with an autism spectrum disorder. The TFT intervention was effective regardless of the existence of sub-clinical traits of autism or a current mental health diagnosis. General stress partially mediated the effect of TFT on perspective-taking.

Read the study here: 

Where’s the Research?

The research on TFT and other energy psychology methods continues to grow.  We have compiled many studies on our TFT Foundation Resource Library page, http://www.tftfoundation.org/category/researchboth , both scientific and anecdotal since the mid 1990’s   Recently, Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology (ACEP) updated their research section and John Freedom and David Feinstein created a Quick Facts.  This is an excellent resource for you to share with clients and colleagues.

Click here to download the list

from https://www.energypsych.org/page/Research_Landing

TFT Included in Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

I am excited to announce the online-first Systematic Literature Review which includes three randomized Thought Field Therapy studies.  Other intervention modalities in the review were various forms of CBT, various forms of psychoeducation, interpersonal therapy, and narrative exposure therapy. Criteria for being included in the review were that it had to be a mental health intervention conducted in a low or middle-income country by professionally trained laypersons. The trial had to be a randomized controlled trial. Our definition of layperson was that they were not already working as a medical or mental health worker such as a doctor, a nurse, a community health worker, or a professional mental health field.

The studies using Thought Field Therapy interventions compared favorably: High effect sizes, short training, and only one treatment.

Eventually, this paper will appear in an in-print edition of the Bulletin of the World Health Organization. In its present form, it is still amendable to further editing and formatting.

Mental health interventions by lay counselors: a systematic review and meta-analysis – Scroll down to Systematic Reviews
https://www.who.int/publications/journals/bulletin/online-first

We sincerely thank Suzanne Connolly and Jenny Edwards for their dedication and hard work on this work.

 

To heal a nation! TFT IZERE RWANDA

Dear TFT Community,

I want to share an amazing, well-done video, from our TFT IZERE Center friends in Rwanda.  The TFT Foundation has been working with them since 2006 when we began treating the orphans from the genocide. There have been several studies resulting from our work there and much improvement and healing with the people of Rwanda.

Our first video, From Trauma to Peace, documented this early work. This new video brings us up to date on their inspiring progress, the progression of the TFT programs including working with the Rwandan Corrections System. Take 5 minutes of your time and watch this inspiring video, share it with others and see how you can join this successful healing program.

TFT IZERE RWANDA, to heal a nation!

Click here to Help us continue this work. 

TFT Power Tool – Get Aligned with Your Goals

Are you living the life of your dreams and achieving all of your desires, or, do some things always seem out of reach?  Do the people and opportunities that come your way reflect your true desires or just the way it has always been?

As I shared with you in weeks one and two, there are some power tools in TFT, the original source of ‘tapping’, that we can all use, no matter what healing modality we are currently using. This week’s video in our series “The Power Tools of TFT” teaches us how and when to use ‘collarbone breathing’ to assist in maintaining balance and peace within our chaotic lives, and align ourselves with what we truly desire.  By aligning ourselves to our desired state-of-being or end goal, we smooth the path to that goal and transcend what we perceive to be ‘in the way”.

This brief, 3-minute procedure is actually a set or group of 40 treatments that Dr. Callahan developed when he was working with George Goodheart, DC in the early years of applied kinesiology (AK).  I will share this brief history with you as well as teach you applications for your life now.

The collarbone breathing can be easily integrated into or added to any current energy modality or healing practice, and is free, brief, and provides you with an explanation and detailed instructions for use, whether you are a practitioner or an individual who just wants to help themselves.

In this video, I describe what collarbone breathing is and how it was painstakingly developed over 30 years ago.

If you find you would like more in-depth application of these tools and how to combine them for the most effective tapping protocols for your self, family or your clients, then join us on our monthly Well-Being webinars.  Following the first two power tools videos, we will learn how we are attracting what is currently in our lives and how we can change that course. Click here to join us: March 13 – Are You Attracting What You Desire?  What is your vibration level?

Yours in well-being,

Joanne Callahan

We Are Witnessing An Alarming Increase in the Rate of Suicide: Especially In Our Youth

There have been numerous recent reports from around the world about the increase in suicides of our youth, especially in those under 18.  The lockdown, isolation, school closures and loss of loved ones are all contributing factors and is continuing.  Children’s Health Defense  reports on this sharp rise in an article on 2/3/21.  They give links to the various literature.

They share a November report by the CDC that analyzed emergency room visits in children under 18 during the pandemic. Results showed that although the number of overall emergency room visits fell during 2020, the number of mental health-related visits increased. Data analyzed from the CDC’s National Syndromic Surveillance Program from Jan. 1 through Oct. 17, 2020, and compared to the same period in 2019 showed a 31% increase in mental health issues among adolescents 12 – 17-years-old.

The article talks about the need for increased study, partnership with governments and healthcare providers, and for parents to help their children be able to honestly and without fear communicate their emotional concerns. Parents need to play a more proactive role in their children’s well-being.

Children learn from example. If they regularly witness their loved ones in a state of anxiety, anger, or fear, they are likely to absorb that energy and exhibit similar behavior. Adults used to be better equipped to deal with these negative emotions but many are losing their resiliency with the on-going pandemic conditions.  Children are even more likely to break under the same pressures.  However, if they experience their parents handle things maturely and in a positive frame of mind, they will be more secure and confident.

While we all ‘know’ parents, guardians, educators – those entrusted with the health of our children –  should provide an environment of trust that encourages their wards to share with them their deepest fears and insecurities, many are just too overwhelmed with negative emotions to do so.

What can we do in the world-wide TFT community to help this crisis?  We can do it from a grassroots level, in our homes, with our families and children, one loving soul at a time?  There are proven and specific tapping tools to heal the trauma around us, diffuse the powder-keg emotions and express compassion and acceptance of our children and loved ones.  The TFT Foundation’s trauma relief blog provides these tools for FREE, in 15 languages.  The most common and powerful tapping protocol is for releasing trauma, anger and guilt.  It can be safely shared with anyone.

In addition to this resource, we now have a monthly well-being program.  Our primary focus is timely topics such as eliminating anxiety and fear and the negative emotions we are struggling with to lifting our mood and that of our children. We will approach it from the perspective of our current reality. And, you will have the opportunity to have solutions to your personal concerns, what is disturbing or blocking you in your life right now.

In this class, we will help you stop living merely as a reaction to your environment and respond from the higher place of compassion and love.  As we release the contracted energy, we can expand our vibration to one of joy and love that we can share with others.  We will share tools for quieting our overactive mind and emotions bringing us more patience and resilience.

And, since it is Valentine’s Day next weekend, we will cover some ways to help our relationships whether they be our life partner, children, extended family or at work.  Relationships are often the source of our anxiety, anger and fear.  Let’s turn those feeling into compassion, love and understanding.

Think about how much happier and relaxed you and others around you could be if you responded rather than reacted to life:

  • Paying attention to your loved ones, listening with intention
  • Showing acceptance, with words and thoughts of kindness
  • Feeling forgiveness and compassion for others
  • Creating a safe environment for yourself and family

As we can all see, the need to release and diffuse our negative feelings is vital.  Our children’s lives depend on it.  Join us Feb. 13: Releasing Anxiety, Fear and Anger