In my practice as psychotherapist it is necessary to utilise a range of techniques to deal with different types of problems and disorders. The following psychotherapeutic approaches have been proven to be efficacious:
BrainWorking Recursive Therapy
BWRT is an immensely powerful style of working that can dissolve problems almost instantaneously. Even the results of deep trauma can often be resolved in literally minutes, instead of years. It represents an entirely new view of the subconscious mind – one that is extremely 'user friendly' and easy for the client to understand - as well as an elegant way of providing psychotherapy that gets easily beneath the Conscious Critical Faculty.
BWRT stands for BrainWorking Recursive Therapy, a revolutionary new therapy process created by UK professional therapist, Terence Watts. It's a totally confidential method that doesn't require you to reveal your private information or personal secrets to your therapist, and is carried out in a completely conscious state. It doesn't use hypnosis or any mystical concepts - it's completely logical, practical and down-to-earth, and only needs you to know what you want to change in your life for it to be completely successful. Only certified practitioners have been trained to deliver BWRT and all have to adhere to a strict ethical code. Find more at www.bwrt.org.
Narrative Approach
The core idea of this approach is the fact that each person has his own story or narrative about his own life.
Everybody tries to find connections between different experiences and events, to find explanations for misfortune and problems and to make sense of life. For that reason, a story is constructed.
The goal of narrative therapy is to help the help-seeker to construct a new life narrative in which he tries to find new explanations and connections for experiences and problems. The person is guided by means of questions, the use of symbols and metaphors, as well as the exposure to the stories of others, not to regard his problems as problems anymore but rather to see them as opportunities and challenges.
The Approach of Family Therapy
The behavioural patterns and relationships of people may be pathological - especially if they live closely together, as in a family.
It is the task of the therapist to temporarily become part of the family system, to identify pathological behavioural patterns and relationships and to manipulate the system in such a manner that more healthy relationships and behavioural patterns can be established.
Once the core problems have been identified, a plan of action may be constructed to find solutions. All the different options have to be identified and the best course of action has to decided upon. The commitment of all concerned has to be gained for success to be achieved.
Marital happiness is dependent upon the extent to which a marriage partner is able to satisfy the physical, social, emotional and spiritual needs of the other.
Behaviour Therapy
The approach of behaviour therapy amounts to the idea that one has to endeavour to teach people to let loose of pathological behavioural patterns and to exchange them for healthier or more useful patterns.
It is unnecessary to seek causes for pathological behaviour in people's unconsciousness or their past; if the pathological behaviour can be replaced by something more useful the symptoms of the pathological condition ought to disappear.
A method that is often used and which proved to be useful in the case of phobias, is progressive and exaggerated exposure to the feared object or situation until the exaggerated and irrational fear disappears.
Nowadays, behaviour therapy is often combined with the approach of cognitive therapy and this is then called cognitive behaviour therapy. People are not only taught to adopt new behavioural patterns - their faulty thinking patterns are also investigated and unproductive ways of thinking are exposed. Examples of pathological thinking patterns are "mind reading" (where the person makes unsubstantiated assumptions about the thoughts, motives and goals of others), unsubstantiated generalisations and illogical arguments. It may happen that people think themselves into a pathological condition, such as depression, by concentrating only on the bad, negative and harmful aspects of life and disregarding the good, positive and beneficial aspects of life. People are then taught to distance themselves from pathological thinking patterns and to learn more healthy ways of thinking.
Existential Therapy
The central theme of this approach is that life makes sense, even if people have to suffer and face death.
Life has meaning when one realises positive values. The ultimate goal of psychotherapy is to help those who suffer to discover the meaning of life and of suffering. If the suffering person has made this discovery then he receives the strength and inspiration to approach life and its problems with a new attitude and to overcome problems.
Clinical Hypnosis
Many psychologists use clinical hypnosis or hypnotherapy as an aid to reach into the subconscious of people and to explore the background of their problems through this technique.
It is effective for a wide range of human problems.
It is often asked: Is it possible for hypnotised people to be susceptible to the influence of demons and evil spirits? It has to be emphasized that something of this sort is impossible. If that were the case, then there would not have a single person on earth who was not under the influence of a gang of devils because everybody gets into a state of light hypnosis every day, although if they do not realise it.
Hypnosis is a natural phenomenon and nearly all people are daily in a light state of hypnosis without realising it. Every time when somebody is busy day dreaming or if his thoughts are wandering so that he forgets about his direct environment he is in a light state of hypnosis. Every night when somebody is dozing off to sleep and he is half-awake and half-asleep that condition also cannot be distinguished from hypnosis.
Hypnosis is nothing but an altered form of consciousness where one can focus intensely on something. It may help to let unpleasant memories, which have deliberately being forgotten, resurface. In this manner, the psychologist can help the patient discover where and when certain problems originated. It is interesting to note that a hypnotised person's brain waves are different from those of a person who is awake. During hypnosis people are more susceptible to suggestions and that may, for instance, be used to cure somebody from addiction to tobacco or drugs.
It must, furthermore, be emphasized: the stage artist who hypnotises people from the audience is breaking the law and he may get a gaol sentence of 12 months and/or a fine when found guilty. Section 37 of the Health Practitioners Act, no 56 of 1974, makes it abundantly clear that only registered psychologists, psychiatrists and other trained medical practitioners may practice hypnotherapy.
Pharmacogical and Dietary Approaches
Psychiatrists and other medical practitioners often treat various psychological disorders by means of medications or pharmacological means.
Unfortunately, the success rate of many medications is low and their use is often accompanied by adverse side-effects.
Dieticians came to the discovery that many psychological disorders may be aided and even cured by taking nutritional supplements, which helps to correct chemical imbalances in the brain. In most cases these medication and/or dietary supplements are given together with some or other form of psychotherapy or counselling - and not as a replacement thereof.
EMDR and EFT
The acronym EMDR stands for "Eye Movement and Desensitation Reprogramming".
Regulated eye movements are used to help the patient to work through traumatic experiences and achieve healing.
EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) is a related technique, which utilises eye movements and the stimulation of certain nerve endings on the body to effect changes in the way the brain is programmed. It is effectice in cases of trauma, anxiety and depression.
