"Thought Field Therapy" and consumer protection regulations

GraceCourt

Has anyone here come across "Thought Field Therapy"? I would have hoped that most MSE readers would be too intelligent to be taken in by what is in my view just another multi-level marketing (MLM) scam, but just in case...

In short, this is a(nother) very weird and unsubstantiated way of (allegedly) curing all of your stresses and strains using a "groundbreaking" technique... of course, there's not a shred of evidence to demonstrate scientifically that it has any effects, beneficial or otherwise, whatsoever.

However, before parting with any money for treatment and/or "courses" to become a "practitioner", you might want to read the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and consider the relevance to what you are about to pay for! To find the UK site for "practitioners"(!), see here. For a good debunking of this nonsense, read here.

paddyrg

Shocking that something called "Thought Field Therapy" should turn out to be flaky...

trumpton

Thought Field Therapy - is that the tapping technique thing? There are loads of FREE sites and pages about that on the web. I am pretty sure you can find out all you need to know about it for nowt. There are so many worthless pseudo qualifications nowadays, make sure any course you do is recognised by the authoritative UK body, not some made up 'accredited' body.

If you need help with any of the stuff that TFT is supposed to help - like stress - go to Amazon UK and find the best-reviewed books on stress, trauma, depression, whatever, written by doctors and psychologists who know what they are talking about. That's a much better place to start than parting with money for a pseudo scientific course.

newmee

the "tapping technique thing" is called EFT, Emotional Freedom Technique.
HTH

ali-t

I trained as a TFT practitioner years ago and found it really good and helped lots of people, including myself with phobias. My employers put me through the training as I was working in the addictions field at the time and there was a lot of evidence that it was beneficial when working with addictions.

Chill out OP, maybe some tapping would do you good.....

trumpton

Lots of sites do seem to be using EFT as part of TFT though. I think EFT may have some value, if only as a distraction from anxiety, panic etc. Anyway there is so much free and useful help on the web about stress that that's the place to start really before you commit to paying for anything.

Oliver14

trumpton wrote: »

Lots of sites do seem to be using EFT as part of TFT though. I think EFT may have some value, if only as a distraction from anxiety, panic etc. Anyway there is so much free and useful help on the web about stress that that's the place to start really before you commit to paying for anything.

Or maybe just visit your GP and get some proper medical treatment if you have anxiety or panic attacks.

fluffnutter

TFT has plenty to support it. Not sure why people think it's a scam - it's not like tapping yourself and wiggling your eyes costs any money!

trumpton

Oliver14 wrote: »

Or maybe just visit your GP and get some proper medical treatment if you have anxiety or panic attacks.

I agree completely, but also feel that the web is such a great resource for people with mental health issues, support etc., that you can do a lot to help yourself for free. For example, through your GP the waiting list for cognitive therapy will be quite long, but there are loads of free sites with excellent info.

I don't think TFT is necessarily a scam, but I think the OP was concerned about people paying out for expensive courses in training or treatment without evidence. These things, like NLP, seem to self-perpetuate a bit. Suddenly everyone is a NLP master practitioner. It's not like being a psychologist or psychiatrist where the qualifications are recognised and accredited.

ashleypride

fluffnutter wrote: »

TFT has plenty to support it. Not sure why people think it's a scam - it's not like tapping yourself and wiggling your eyes costs any money!

Care to point me to any controlled studies that prove it?

GraceCourt

ali-t wrote: »

... I was working in the addictions field at the time and there was a lot of evidence that it was beneficial when working with addictions.

Nope. None whatsoever. Not a shred. Subjective "feelgood" reports from someone who undergoes "thought field therapy", or ditto from practitioners, will never be "evidence" of anything - other, that is, than of widespread public ignorance of science and statistics.

Ashleypride has the right idea. :T