Interestingly, TFT is non-placebo, which means that it will work whether or not you believe in it. The discoverer of TFT, an American called Dr. Roger Callahan, confirmed this in a workshop by asking two hard-line skeptics to treat one another - with success.

Dr. Callahan came across TFT as a psychotherapist in 1980 when he was working with a client called Mary who had a severe water phobia. She had complained about a feeling linked to her water issue that was located in the pit of her stomach. With some knowledge of Chinese medicine and willing to try anything, Dr. Callahan studied acupuncture charts, which showed that the stomach meridian started at a point under the eye. He asked her to tap this point, and within two minutes her phobia was gone forever.

Thought Field Therapy has been found to influence the heart and balance the autonomic nervous system, producing both physical and psychological changes. Work has been carried out to scientifically validate TFT through measuring the fluctuation in heartbeat regularity (known as Heart Rate Variability). The results showed a dramatic stabilisation in Heart Rate Variability following TFT treatment.

In the last few years, TFT has been used in conflict zones with great effect. In Kosovo in 1999, the most deeply affected trauma patients were referred to a US practitioner called Dr. Carl Johnson, nearly all of them experiencing relief. Dr Shkelzen, head of medicine in Kosovo, is launching a new national program based on TFT.