Helping treat phobias and deal with traumas
Neuro Linguistic Programming has and still helps me in all aspects of my life.
I still remember hearing in my training the following words:
"You may be pleasantly surprised if you change one thing other changes may occur also."
For me that held true especially the day we learnt about treating Trauma and Phobia.
Yes, my biggest phobia then was Spiders, it was my lucky day (didn't feel like it at the time) as that was the example used in the leanings. There were no scary pictures or anything to make you feel bad. However, with a spider phobia like mine the more I heard the word spider the more I could see the spider in my minds eye. From a traumatic experience as a young child I had grown up with this and my phobia had grown with me.
Of course my PRIDE wouldn't allow me to put my hand up in class and say HELP! So naturally my body reacted in a protective manner putting me into the fight-flight mode, for me that spider was with me, it was reality for me right there and then. My fellow students sitting next to me had noticed a change in me, if I could have gotten up and left the room I would have. However, what kept me there was this nagging question in my head "What if someone comes to me with this phobia? Do I say sorry I can't help you? Would it be me leaving the room before them...
Fortunately, I got over my pride and commented basically asking for help, having the trust and skill of a very experienced NLP Trainer guide me through the Trauma Phobia procedure, both my fellow students and myself got to see just how effective this procedure is. YES, it worked for me. I am still asked to this day how I feel about spiders - well I'm not saying that I'm a big fan of them, but now I can accept they are around and no longer get into a panic state. I have even had one walk over my hand, NO it wasn't an experiment, but it did really amaze me to just watch it without going into shock.
In addition to this one procedure, it has also changed how I react to other situations that occur in my life. I found my NEW calm and YOU CAN TOO!
This technique works for many, those experiencing; anxiety, panic attacks, flash backs, nightmares, and much more... I can personally recommend it and have had great success using this protocol with my clients.
For more information please read the supporting research provided here or read below:
Supporting Research - Phobias and Trauma
NLP has become well known for its success in working with people with phobias and post traumatic responses. The process involves re-coding the way the memory has been stored in the nervous system.
The core Research and Recognition project by NLP Trainers Frank Bourke and Richard Gray has worked with hundreds of military veterans in the USA. They title the NLP-based Trauma and Phobia process "RTM" (Reconsolidation of Traumatic Memories). Some of their activities in the last decade have been:
A Pilot Study published in the Journal of Military, Veteran, and Family Health, (JMVFH; NY $300,000 Pilot Grant). 25 of 26 (96%) no longer tested as having PTSD and their PTS intrusive symptoms were fully alleviated in under five sessions. (Gray & Bourke, 2015)
First Replication Study. Results were published in the JMVFH in 2017 (Tylee et al., 2017). Over 90% of the 30 male veterans were symptom and diagnosis free at the two- week, six-week, and twelve-month follow-ups.
Second Replication Study. Results are in preparation for submission to a peer-reviewed Journal. Over 96% of the 30 women veterans have scored below diagnostic threshold on the PCL-M and PSS-I at two weeks post and all subsequent measures to one year, follow-ups.
Third Replication Study. (NY $800K Grant). 75 veteran study published in Psychotherapy Research (Gray, Budden-Potts, & Bourke, 2017). Over 90% of the male veterans completing treatment have scored below diagnostic threshold on the PCL-M and PSS-I. About half of those treated were followed to six months and retained freedom from PTSD intrusive symptoms and diagnosis.
Neurological Studies using EEG, pre- and post-treatment, were done at the Mind Research Network in New Mexico. The first pilot "Quantitative EEG Markers of PTSD and Impact of the (RTM) Treatment Protocol" has been submitted for publication to the J. of Biological Psychiatry. The research is being conducted in Dr Jeff Lewine’s laboratory at New Mexico’s, Mind Research Network for Neuro-diagnostic Discovery. Dr Lewine is one of the foremost neurological research scientists in the US working on PTSD and is currently conducting a randomised controlled comparison study of RTM vs Prolonged Exposure using neurological pre and post measurements.
On April 15, 2018 the RTM Protocol was presented at the Annual World Conference of the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics in Los Angeles, California. The presentation was titled "The Reconsolidation of Traumatic Memories Protocol (RTM) for PTSD: a brief treatment in the neural context of reconsolidation blockade."
Comments