Relational Field Therapy
RFT Diagnostics
How to Identify Field‑Level Wounds in Under 10 Minutes
RFT diagnostics are not about symptoms, pathology, or personality.
They are about pattern recognition — identifying when a communal wound has been pushed into an individual body.
A skilled RFT practitioner can detect misattribution quickly, often within the first ten minutes of conversation.
Below is the diagnostic framework that makes this possible.
1. The Scale Mismatch Test
Does the client’s emotional intensity match the size of the event?
If the client’s reaction is:
- bigger than the moment
- older than the moment
- deeper than the moment
- disproportionate to the trigger
…it’s almost always a field‑level wound masquerading as a personal issue.
This is the fastest diagnostic in RFT.
Hashtags: #ScaleMismatch #FieldClues #EmotionalAccuracy
2. The Shame Without Cause Indicator
Is the client ashamed of something they didn’t choose or control?
Shame that appears without:
- wrongdoing
- intention
- agency
- choice
…is misattributed shame.
This is a hallmark of communal wounds being forced into an individual identity.
Hashtags: #ShameSignal #Misattribution #NotYourFault
3. The “I Should Have Known” Pattern
Does the client blame themselves for not predicting the rupture?
Clients often say:
- “I should have seen it coming.”
- “I should have handled it better.”
- “I should have known what they needed.”
This reveals a responsibility distortion — the client is carrying the field’s failure as if it were their job.
Hashtags: #ResponsibilityDistortion #FieldFailure #OverBurdened
4. The Sensitivity Pathologization Check
Has the client been told their perception is the problem?
If the client reports being labeled:
- too sensitive
- dramatic
- overreactive
- intense
- difficult
…it means the field used “normalcy” to silence the signal.
This is a classic Doe Normaal wound‑transfer.
Hashtags: #SensitivityIsSignal #DoeNormaalDecoded #FieldDenial
5. The Collapse Narrative
Does the client describe losing themselves after a relational rupture?
Statements like:
- “I disappeared.”
- “I shut down.”
- “I lost my sense of self.”
- “I couldn’t tell what was real.”
…indicate a scale collapse — the wound was too large for one person to metabolize.
Hashtags: #IdentityCollapse #ScaleError #FieldImpact
6. The Ghost Obligation Test
Is the client carrying an unspoken duty that no one named?
Examples:
- emotional labor
- caretaking
- silence
- stability
- forgiveness
- “being the strong one”
These are signs of the HAU wound — the unreturned gift or broken obligation.
Hashtags: #HAUWound #UnspokenObligation #RelationalDebt
7. The Pattern Without Origin
Does the client describe a recurring dynamic with no clear cause?
If the client keeps ending up in:
- scapegoat roles
- caretaker roles
- truth‑teller roles
- stabilizer roles
…it means the field is reenacting its wound through them.
This is not personality — it’s positionality.
Hashtags: #ReenactmentPattern #FieldPosition #NotPersonal
8. The Silence Penalty
Has the client been punished for naming the rupture?
If speaking the truth resulted in:
- backlash
- exile
- ridicule
- minimization
- character attacks
…the field is protecting its wound by attacking the signal.
This is diagnostic of a collapsed truth‑teller.
Hashtags: #TruthPenalty #FieldPushback #SilencedSignal
9. The Emotional Echo Test
Does the client feel emotions that seem to belong to someone else?
If the client reports:
- guilt that isn’t theirs
- fear that isn’t theirs
- anger that isn’t theirs
- grief that isn’t theirs
…it means they are absorbing the field’s unprocessed affect.
This is common in Haunted Healers.
Hashtags: #EmotionalEcho #AbsorbedAffect #HauntedHealer
10. The Boundary Breach Map
Where did the field fail to protect the client?
RFT diagnostics always include:
- who crossed the boundary
- who failed to intervene
- who benefited from the collapse
- who misassigned the wound
This reveals the true architecture of the rupture.
Hashtags: #BoundaryBreach #FieldResponsibility #StructuralInsight
11. The “Normalcy Script” Detection
Has the client been pressured to shrink, flatten, or disappear?
Phrases like:
- “Just act normal.”
- “Don’t make it weird.”
- “Calm down.”
- “Why can’t you be like everyone else?”
…are direct indicators of cultural wound‑transfer.
Hashtags: #NormalcyScript #CulturalWound #DoeNormaal
12. The Field Origin Trace
Where did the wound actually begin?
The therapist traces:
- the lineage
- the institution
- the culture
- the system
- the group dynamic
This is the moment the wound is returned to the field.
Hashtags: #FieldOrigin #WoundTracing #StructuralTruth
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