I, Dr. Callahan, believe that most of the treatments used to help trauma victims today, that entail suffering
and reliving the emotional experience, are harmful and trauma inducing in their own right. It makes no
difference that numerous so-called experts acclaim these outmoded procedures – they fail the scientific test;
they are experiments that not only do not work but cause harm. Generations of suffering people have been
wrongly taught that suffering is necessary and they must endure a process of suffering.
Those who do not wish to endure emotional suffering now have a choice. My belief is, that it is desirable
to reduce or eliminate suffering as much as possible. Some professionals have criticized my work because
they believe it is important for people to suffer. I do not agree.
When anesthesia was first discovered there was uproar among some factions (men) who objected to
women not having pain in child birth. They cited the bible as an authority but of course the bible pre-dated
the discovery of anesthesia. When I taught at Eastern Michigan University, a colleague, Professor David
Palmer (Speech and Hearing) told me that when an operation first became available for cleft palate there
were objections from some sources. Palmer jokingly paraphrased a part of the marriage vow: “What God
has put asunder, let no man put together!”
In this class you will learn how to repeat some of the experiments based upon my discoveries relating to
psychological trauma. Many professionals and volunteers have already successfully helped trauma victims
many thousands of times all over the world, from Kosovo to Rwanda and here in New Orleans, after hurricane
Katrina. You will learn to apply these simple yet very powerful self-help procedures for yourself and
your family.
You will also learn how to eliminate the nightmares associated with past traumatic events and also the
painful psychological after-effects of terrible and upsetting experiences.
Trauma refers to having a terrible experience. A phobia is an unwarranted fear. Trauma is different from a
phobia. The upset in trauma is a normal upset in response to a terrible situation. A phobic person can have a
traumatic experience due to his particular and unique, however unwarranted, fear. Most others do not share
this unrealistic fear and hence would not be traumatized by the same fear event. However, everyone will be
quite upset by a trauma
Traumas are commonly due to loss or negative event, e.g., losing a loved one, rape, mugging, robbery,
accidents, war, industrial accidents, abuse, losing your job, school bombings, acts of terrorism, death of a
loved one, getting a severe illness, and other negative events. Even witnessing or hearing about such events
can have traumatic consequences, especially if the trauma happens to someone you know and care about.
Post-traumatic stress refers to stress that is delayed, perhaps for years. However, there is no difference
in the way we view or treat trauma based on the time factor. Trauma is treated in the same way in TFT
whether or not it is a problem right after the event or whether time passes prior to the upset. I once treated a
concentration camp victim a half a century after the experience. However, his stress had been constant and
not delayed.
Most psychological problems such as phobias are bewildering to people who have them. The central
characteristic of a phobia is that it is an unrealistic fear. The person knows it is an absurd fear but nevertheless cannot help being afraid. If anything, this knowledge merely adds humiliation to the fear. Obsessions, addictions, distortions of reality, are all types of problems considered abnormal.
It makes more sense that an abnormal fear, say of bugs, should be curable rather than the severe upset over
a terrible situation. Trauma is a unique class of problems, for it consists of a perfectly normal, appropriate
emotionally disturbed reaction to an objectively terrible situation or event. There are people who overreact
to trauma but this is an overreaction to a normally upsetting situation.
I find it especially interesting and intriguing that it is possible to banish all traces of emotional upset over a
very real objective trauma. Until I made this discovery I thought that only time would partially heal traumas;
sometimes taking many years of prolonged suffering.
Recently I treated a woman whose boyfriend committed suicide. She was naturally very upset, unable
to function very well and was constantly in severe psychological pain. Immediately after the treatment she
felt strong in the face of this tragedy and was again able to function and carry out her job. The simple recipe
provided in your handout eliminated all traces of this poor woman’s suffering.
The ease and power of this simple treatment suggests that we have a healing power within us which only
awaits a simple correct procedure in order for the healing data to kick in and take us into a higher state of
health or consciousness
Psychologists Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow suggested many years ago that we all have this power
within us and TFT supports their views by making this power clearly evident to any interested observer. If
Rogers and Maslow were alive I am confident they would be shocked and pleased to see this power released
with such ease and regularity through Thought Field Therapy® (TFT).
I interpret my therapy results, which you will be able to reproduce, as evidence that Nature gives us a
license to be relatively free of intense emotional upset from very real, objectively horrible events; otherwise
it would not be so easy.
Removing The Emotional Effects Of Trauma Does Not Change Reality TFT can now easily remove the
emotional effects of trauma, however, the reality of a trauma, alas, remains. However, this reality can now
be completely stripped of disruptive and disturbing emotional effects.
Though important, effective therapy cannot change reality. If, for example, parents lose a child, this reality
must be lived with for the rest of their lives. There is no way to change the grim reality, and until recently
there was no way to change the emotional hurt and pain. The loss will remain real, but one may become
strong in the face of a grim reality.
Just yesterday, an acquaintance informed me of the recent loss of a much loved 19 year old nephew to
suicide. The suicide was a response to love loss, his girl friend just broke up with him. Love pain is one of
the most disruptive of emotions. Murder and suicides are not rare in this turbulent emotion. I helped the
acquaintance who was suffering terribly from the grief of loss. It took only three minutes to accomplish this
result. The extreme look of pain on her face was immediately gone. Of course, the loss is permanent but
the severe emotional pain is completely gone. Perhaps, if the nephew had been aware of this simple treatment,
it’s quite possible his life could have been saved. There is an excellent example of how this trauma treatment helped a young man who had tried to commit suicide on our YouTube non-profit site, www.YouTube.com/ATFTFoundation.
This powerful trauma algorithm is so easy to do that everyone should know it for a psychological first aid
procedure.
It is a common observation that severely handicapped people ought to be depressed over their situation but
most, fortunately, are not. Depression and other emotions, as viewed by TFT, are not exclusively the result
of a reality condition but rather the result of what we call perturbations in a thought field. When viewed
this way we can understand how it is possible to treat severe traumas, not by changing reality, but rather by
eliminating the fundamental cause of the suffering (see glossary on Perturbations).
The Ease of the Trauma Treatment Does Not Eliminate the Important Concept of Justice The fact that
we can treat traumas with relative ease should not obscure the fact that victims are entitled to justice. One
professional expressed concern to me that if no one was upset over a rape, then rape might become acceptable.
Emotional upset should not be the relevant standard but rather the criminality of the act.
We can, and should, pursue justice without remaining unnecessarily upset. We can all be outraged over
rape or other such crimes and pursue justice diligently without becoming personally devastated over the
matter; in fact, we probably will do a better job of carrying out justice, the stronger and more resolute we
can remain.
and reliving the emotional experience, are harmful and trauma inducing in their own right. It makes no
difference that numerous so-called experts acclaim these outmoded procedures – they fail the scientific test;
they are experiments that not only do not work but cause harm. Generations of suffering people have been
wrongly taught that suffering is necessary and they must endure a process of suffering.
Those who do not wish to endure emotional suffering now have a choice. My belief is, that it is desirable
to reduce or eliminate suffering as much as possible. Some professionals have criticized my work because
they believe it is important for people to suffer. I do not agree.
When anesthesia was first discovered there was uproar among some factions (men) who objected to
women not having pain in child birth. They cited the bible as an authority but of course the bible pre-dated
the discovery of anesthesia. When I taught at Eastern Michigan University, a colleague, Professor David
Palmer (Speech and Hearing) told me that when an operation first became available for cleft palate there
were objections from some sources. Palmer jokingly paraphrased a part of the marriage vow: “What God
has put asunder, let no man put together!”
In this class you will learn how to repeat some of the experiments based upon my discoveries relating to
psychological trauma. Many professionals and volunteers have already successfully helped trauma victims
many thousands of times all over the world, from Kosovo to Rwanda and here in New Orleans, after hurricane
Katrina. You will learn to apply these simple yet very powerful self-help procedures for yourself and
your family.
You will also learn how to eliminate the nightmares associated with past traumatic events and also the
painful psychological after-effects of terrible and upsetting experiences.
Trauma refers to having a terrible experience. A phobia is an unwarranted fear. Trauma is different from a
phobia. The upset in trauma is a normal upset in response to a terrible situation. A phobic person can have a
traumatic experience due to his particular and unique, however unwarranted, fear. Most others do not share
this unrealistic fear and hence would not be traumatized by the same fear event. However, everyone will be
quite upset by a trauma
Traumas are commonly due to loss or negative event, e.g., losing a loved one, rape, mugging, robbery,
accidents, war, industrial accidents, abuse, losing your job, school bombings, acts of terrorism, death of a
loved one, getting a severe illness, and other negative events. Even witnessing or hearing about such events
can have traumatic consequences, especially if the trauma happens to someone you know and care about.
Post-traumatic stress refers to stress that is delayed, perhaps for years. However, there is no difference
in the way we view or treat trauma based on the time factor. Trauma is treated in the same way in TFT
whether or not it is a problem right after the event or whether time passes prior to the upset. I once treated a
concentration camp victim a half a century after the experience. However, his stress had been constant and
not delayed.
Most psychological problems such as phobias are bewildering to people who have them. The central
characteristic of a phobia is that it is an unrealistic fear. The person knows it is an absurd fear but nevertheless cannot help being afraid. If anything, this knowledge merely adds humiliation to the fear. Obsessions, addictions, distortions of reality, are all types of problems considered abnormal.
It makes more sense that an abnormal fear, say of bugs, should be curable rather than the severe upset over
a terrible situation. Trauma is a unique class of problems, for it consists of a perfectly normal, appropriate
emotionally disturbed reaction to an objectively terrible situation or event. There are people who overreact
to trauma but this is an overreaction to a normally upsetting situation.
I find it especially interesting and intriguing that it is possible to banish all traces of emotional upset over a
very real objective trauma. Until I made this discovery I thought that only time would partially heal traumas;
sometimes taking many years of prolonged suffering.
Recently I treated a woman whose boyfriend committed suicide. She was naturally very upset, unable
to function very well and was constantly in severe psychological pain. Immediately after the treatment she
felt strong in the face of this tragedy and was again able to function and carry out her job. The simple recipe
provided in your handout eliminated all traces of this poor woman’s suffering.
The ease and power of this simple treatment suggests that we have a healing power within us which only
awaits a simple correct procedure in order for the healing data to kick in and take us into a higher state of
health or consciousness
Psychologists Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow suggested many years ago that we all have this power
within us and TFT supports their views by making this power clearly evident to any interested observer. If
Rogers and Maslow were alive I am confident they would be shocked and pleased to see this power released
with such ease and regularity through Thought Field Therapy® (TFT).
I interpret my therapy results, which you will be able to reproduce, as evidence that Nature gives us a
license to be relatively free of intense emotional upset from very real, objectively horrible events; otherwise
it would not be so easy.
Removing The Emotional Effects Of Trauma Does Not Change Reality TFT can now easily remove the
emotional effects of trauma, however, the reality of a trauma, alas, remains. However, this reality can now
be completely stripped of disruptive and disturbing emotional effects.
Though important, effective therapy cannot change reality. If, for example, parents lose a child, this reality
must be lived with for the rest of their lives. There is no way to change the grim reality, and until recently
there was no way to change the emotional hurt and pain. The loss will remain real, but one may become
strong in the face of a grim reality.
Just yesterday, an acquaintance informed me of the recent loss of a much loved 19 year old nephew to
suicide. The suicide was a response to love loss, his girl friend just broke up with him. Love pain is one of
the most disruptive of emotions. Murder and suicides are not rare in this turbulent emotion. I helped the
acquaintance who was suffering terribly from the grief of loss. It took only three minutes to accomplish this
result. The extreme look of pain on her face was immediately gone. Of course, the loss is permanent but
the severe emotional pain is completely gone. Perhaps, if the nephew had been aware of this simple treatment,
it’s quite possible his life could have been saved. There is an excellent example of how this trauma treatment helped a young man who had tried to commit suicide on our YouTube non-profit site, www.YouTube.com/ATFTFoundation.
This powerful trauma algorithm is so easy to do that everyone should know it for a psychological first aid
procedure.
It is a common observation that severely handicapped people ought to be depressed over their situation but
most, fortunately, are not. Depression and other emotions, as viewed by TFT, are not exclusively the result
of a reality condition but rather the result of what we call perturbations in a thought field. When viewed
this way we can understand how it is possible to treat severe traumas, not by changing reality, but rather by
eliminating the fundamental cause of the suffering (see glossary on Perturbations).
The Ease of the Trauma Treatment Does Not Eliminate the Important Concept of Justice The fact that
we can treat traumas with relative ease should not obscure the fact that victims are entitled to justice. One
professional expressed concern to me that if no one was upset over a rape, then rape might become acceptable.
Emotional upset should not be the relevant standard but rather the criminality of the act.
We can, and should, pursue justice without remaining unnecessarily upset. We can all be outraged over
rape or other such crimes and pursue justice diligently without becoming personally devastated over the
matter; in fact, we probably will do a better job of carrying out justice, the stronger and more resolute we
can remain.
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