The treatment is effective when it is done as a systematic process and it takes time. Patients need to encounter problem situations numerous times in order to have the opportunity to retrain their thinking and thereby change their behaviors. Cognitive behavioral therapy has been successful in the treatment of eating disorders, anxiety, insomnia, obsessive compulsive disorder, and post traumatic stress disorder.

Cognitive behavioral therapy had its beginnings in the 1960’s when advances in behavioral therapy, which had been around since the 1920’s, was combined with the new field of cognitive therapy. Both techniques had their strengths and weaknesses but combining the two seemed to be the best of both worlds. As long as the patient had significant cognitive functions to understand the underlying assumptions that were responsible for their negative behaviors, then they could be retrained to assess the situation more correctly and generate a different emotion or behavior as a response in place of the negative one.

Each individual creates their own unique view of any given situation. This view is based in part on our past experiences as other environmental factors. For some people, this view is distorted and that leads them to an irrational response to the situation. Given their distorted view, this response may seem to be perfectly acceptable. Therefore the first step in cognitive behavioral therapy is to teach people to view the trouble situations clearly so that they can then learn the correct appropriate reaction.

This approach which directly engages the patient’s behaviors is in stark contrast to the psychoanalysts approach like that pioneered by Freud. Freud’s techniques look backwards, searching out the root of the problem, while cognitive behavioral therapy looks forward to the end result and starts there. The theory being that if you eliminate the symptoms, then you have effectively cured the disorder. CBT requires repetition to teach patients the appropriate responses to stimuli and to help them understand how to make that right choice so they are able to apply those new decision making skills to real life situations.

In this way, cognitive behavioral therapy owes a debt to early behavioral researchers like Ivan Pavlov who among his many experiments showed that dogs could be trained to salivate at the sound of a bell if the sound was repeatedly associated with their mealtime. In the same way, positive behaviors are trained into patients until that hopefully becomes their natural response instead of the negative behavior that brought them to therapy in the first place.

For the therapist, the key to solving a patient’s behavioral problems lies in uncovering the underlying assumptions that the patient holds that act as a trigger for the behavior. Once the therapist has identified these flawed assumptions, they can help the patient change them. Once the patient understands that the assumptions they held were wrong, they can be replaced with ones that are correct. Once this transformation occurs, the patients reactions to situations will also change and the negative, inappropriate behavior will be eliminated.

Given the types of assumptions or even core beliefs that the therapist is asking the patient to question and ultimately change, the situation can naturally be quite volatile. For this reason the these techniques take time. A therapist does not want to shake a patient’s belief to the core without giving them something else to build upon so the therapist must move slowly in steps. Validity testing is a common first step, where the patient is asked to explain or defend his or her beliefs or assumptions. If they are faulty, then eventually the patient will see the flaws in the logic. The therapist cannot simply tell the patient this however, the patient has to learn it on their own so they understand it as well as accept it.

The results of cognitive behavioral therapy show that the lengthy process is worth the effort because in the end it is effective. That is why cognitive behavioral therapy is the number one treatment for a wide variety of disorders from bulimia to panic disorder.

Bethany Jordan is an Information Technology professional and aspiring writer who was clinically diagnosed with SAD (Social Anxiety Disorder) in 2007.

She maintains a website dedicated to sharing information on natural antidepressants, herbal remedies for anxiety and depression, and anxiety disorders in general. Everyone is welcome and invited to visit http://www.naturalantidepressants.info …

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bethany_Jordin

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a combination of traditional behavioral therapy and cognitive therapy. They are combined into a treatment that is focused on symptom removal. The effectiveness of the treatment can clearly be judged based on its results. The more it is used, the more it has become recommended. It is now used as the number one treatment technique for post traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, depression and bulimia.

Cognitive behavioral therapy first began to be used between 1960 and 1970. It was a gradual process of merging behavioral therapy techniques and cognitive therapy techniques. Behavioral therapy had been around since the 1920’s, but cognitive therapy was not introduced until the 1960’s. Almost immediately the benefits of combining it with behavioral therapy techniques were realized. Ivan Pavlov, with his dogs who salivated at the ringing of the dinner bell, was among the most famous of the behavioral research pioneers. Other leaders in the field included John Watson and Clark Hull.

Instead of focusing on analyzing the problem like Freud and the psychoanalysts, cognitive behavioral therapy focused on eliminating the symptoms. The idea being that if you eliminate the symptoms, you have eliminated the problem. This more direct approach was seen as more effective at getting to the problem at hand and helping patients to make progress more quickly.

As a more radical aggressive treatment, behavioral techniques dealt better with more radical problems. The more obvious and clear cut the symptoms were, the easier it was to target them and devise treatments to eliminate them. Behavioral therapy was not as successful initially with more ambiguous problems such as depression. This realm was better served with cognitive therapy techniques.

In many academic settings, the two therapy techniques were used side by side to compare and contrast the results. It was not long before the advantages of combining the two techniques became clear as a way of taking advantage of the strengths of each. David Barlow’s work on panic disorder treatments provided the first concrete example of the success of the combined strategies.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is difficult to define in a succinct definition because it covers such a broad range of topics and techniques. It is really an umbrella definition for individual treatments that are specifically tailored to the problems of a specific patient. So the problem dictates the specifics of the treatment, but there are some common themes and techniques. These include having the patient keep a diary of important events and record the feelings and behaviors they had in association with each event. This tool is then used as a basis to analyze and test the patient’s ability to evaluate the situation and develop an appropriate emotional response. Negative emotions and behaviors are identified as well as the evaluations and beliefs that lead to them. An effort is then made to counter these beliefs and evaluations to show that the resulting behaviors are wrong. Negative behaviors are eliminated and the patient is taught a better way to view and react to the situation.

Part of the therapy also includes teaching the patient ways to distract themselves or change their focus from something that is upsetting or a situation that is generating negative behavior. They learn to focus on something else instead of the negative stimulus, thus eliminating the negative behavior that it would lead to. The problem is essentially nipped in the bud. For serious psychological disorders like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, mood stabilizing medications are often prescribed to use in conjunction with these techniques. The medications give the patient enough of a calming effect to give them the opportunity to examine the situation and make the healthy choice whereas before they could not even pause for rational thought.

Cognitive behavioral therapy has been proven effective for a variety of problems, but it is still a process, not a miracle cure. It takes time to teach patients to understand situations and identify the triggers of their negative behaviors. Once this step is mastered, it still takes a lot of effort to overcome their first instincts and instead stop and make the right choices. First they learn what they should do, and then they must practice until they can do it.

Bethany Jordan is an Information Technology professional and aspiring writer who was clinically diagnosed with SAD (Social Anxiety Disorder) in 2007.

She maintains a website dedicated to sharing information on natural antidepressants, herbal remedies for anxiety and depression, and anxiety disorders in general. Everyone is welcome and invited to visit http://www.naturalantidepressants.info …

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bethany_Jordin

Cognitive behavioral therapy is an approach used by psychotherapists to influence a patient’s behaviors and emotions. The key to the approach is in its procedure which must be systematic. It has been used successfully to treat a variety of disorders including eating disorders, substance abuse, anxiety and personality disorders. It can be used in individual or group therapy sessions and the approach can also be geared towards self help therapy.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a combination of traditional behavioral therapy and cognitive therapy. They are combined into a treatment that is focused on symptom removal. The effectiveness of the treatment can clearly be judged based on its results. The more it is used, the more it has become recommended. It is now used as the number one treatment technique for post traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, depression and bulimia.

Cognitive behavioral therapy first began to be used between 1960 and 1970. It was a gradual process of merging behavioral therapy techniques and cognitive therapy techniques. Behavioral therapy had been around since the 1920’s, but cognitive therapy was not introduced until the 1960’s. Almost immediately the benefits of combining it with behavioral therapy techniques were realized. Ivan Pavlov, with his dogs who salivated at the ringing of the dinner bell, was among the most famous of the behavioral research pioneers. Other leaders in the field included John Watson and Clark Hull.

Instead of focusing on analyzing the problem like Freud and the psychoanalysts, cognitive behavioral therapy focused on eliminating the symptoms. The idea being that if you eliminate the symptoms, you have eliminated the problem. This more direct approach was seen as more effective at getting to the problem at hand and helping patients to make progress more quickly.

As a more radical aggressive treatment, behavioral techniques dealt better with more radical problems. The more obvious and clear cut the symptoms were, the easier it was to target them and devise treatments to eliminate them. Behavioral therapy was not as successful initially with more ambiguous problems such as depression. This realm was better served with cognitive therapy techniques.

In many academic settings, the two therapy techniques were used side by side to compare and contrast the results. It was not long before the advantages of combining the two techniques became clear as a way of taking advantage of the strengths of each. David Barlow’s work on panic disorder treatments provided the first concrete example of the success of the combined strategies.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is difficult to define in a succinct definition because it covers such a broad range of topics and techniques. It is really an umbrella definition for individual treatments that are specifically tailored to the problems of a specific patient. So the problem dictates the specifics of the treatment, but there are some common themes and techniques. These include having the patient keep a diary of important events and record the feelings and behaviors they had in association with each event. This tool is then used as a basis to analyze and test the patient’s ability to evaluate the situation and develop an appropriate emotional response. Negative emotions and behaviors are identified as well as the evaluations and beliefs that lead to them. An effort is then made to counter these beliefs and evaluations to show that the resulting behaviors are wrong. Negative behaviors are eliminated and the patient is taught a better way to view and react to the situation.

Part of the therapy also includes teaching the patient ways to distract themselves or change their focus from something that is upsetting or a situation that is generating negative behavior. They learn to focus on something else instead of the negative stimulus, thus eliminating the negative behavior that it would lead to. The problem is essentially nipped in the bud. For serious psychological disorders like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, mood stabilizing medications are often prescribed to use in conjunction with these techniques. The medications give the patient enough of a calming effect to give them the opportunity to examine the situation and make the healthy choice whereas before they could not even pause for rational thought.

Cognitive behavioral therapy has been proven effective for a variety of problems, but it is still a process, not a miracle cure. It takes time to teach patients to understand situations and identify the triggers of their negative behaviors. Once this step is mastered, it still takes a lot of effort to overcome their first instincts and instead stop and make the right choices. First they learn what they should do, and then they must practice until they can do it.

Bethany Jordan is an Information Technology professional and aspiring writer who was clinically diagnosed with SAD (Social Anxiety Disorder) in 2007.

She maintains a website dedicated to sharing information on natural antidepressants, herbal remedies for anxiety and depression, and anxiety disorders in general. Everyone is welcome and invited to visit http://www.naturalantidepressants.info …

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bethany_Jordin

In medicine, Depression has various classifications that are given specific names, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Post Natal Depression, plus other terms such as, Manic Depression and a term not so common today, Nervous Breakdown. Manic Depression refers to a sufferer who alternates between very high moods and equally low moods. Depression in all its guises does not have a physical component, so can only be emotional complaint.

The first two mentioned types of depression take their names from the apparent source of the depression, particularly the second, but the essence of the complaint is the same, DEPRESSION, the victim is depressed and in extreme cases takes their own life – an act of total desperation.

So what is depression? Let us start with the word itself. A depression is something that is lower than its surroundings, such as a ‘depression in the road’ or in meteorology ‘an area of low air pressure’ and in this instance obviously surrounded by areas of higher air pressure. Similarly, when a person is feeling low in spirits they are said to be depressed, feeling lower than what is considered normal, a common enough occurrence after disappointments and losses, but if the feeling becomes chronic, more or less permanent, medicine labels its victims as suffering from Depression.

Without going into specifics, the chronic depression sufferer experiences any and every type of emotion and attitude to life that is negative, so the question, what is depression, will have to be left without a precise answer, but I will say this; anxiety, despondency and irrational fears prevail, which vary in degree and form from case to case. One person whom I helped felt that “life is not worth living” and was so despondent as to be suicidal, whilst another just sat there in front of me and started to cry. All I had said was, “How can I help you?”

The term Post Natal Depression, in offering a specific cause implies that it is a special kind of depression; it is different to any other form of depression, but to be blunt, that is nuts. Depression is depression is depression! Yet again, the term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in acknowledging that it is depression, implies that it is a unique form of depression caused by trauma, but that is nuts too, trauma is the ONLY cause of depression and whether the trauma was major or minor, is like beauty; it is in the eyes of the beholder. For this reason, no dictionary can define when an upsetting event becomes a trauma; the dictionaries just refer to it as an event having dramatic negative emotional effects.

The word trauma can refer to both a physical injury and an emotional disturbance and like depression it varies in intensity from case to case. Interestingly, as a slight deviation, every physical trauma, say a broken leg, has a corresponding emotional trauma. The physician can set the broken limb, but the emotional trauma remains. The depth of the emotional trauma governs the longevity of the healing process; removing the emotional aspect expedites the healing. To return to the main theme, what has to be taken into account as regards emotional trauma is the attitude of the individual concerned, so here is an analogy. A person is walking down the road when a dog starts barking at them and approaching in a threatening manner, so they pick up a stone, hit the dog with it, which then runs off yelping with its tail between its legs. Another rather timid person in the same situation will probably start quaking with fear. What is traumatic for one is a minor inconsequential inconvenience for another.

This does not negate the fact that some experiences are majorly distressing, but whether major or minor, without exception they all fall within the Mace Method’s definition of an Upset. This is defined as “ANY EVENT THAT A PERSON WOULD NOT EXPERIENCE BY CHOICE” and this definition is the corner stone of the procedure. It does not matter what happened in an upset or what the effects were that were generated, the Mace Method rapidly and permanently, totally eliminates all negative effects, in other words it permanently banishes depression no matter how it is dramatised.

Happiness and survival are synonymous and for any individual their own personal survival is paramount. Causism has identified two vital laws of survival and the very logical first law states, NO-ONE WILL EVER KNOWINGLY INSTIGATE ANYTHING WHICH THEY KNOW TO BE NON SURVIVAL FOR THEM. Law two states, ONE IS ONLY AFFECTED BY WHAT ONE IS UNAWARE OF. A person may remember some traumatic experience, but buried in their psyche are emotions from the experience that are hidden from recall. It is these buried emotions, which once located and discreated are the key to recovery.

A sub-law of Causism states ATTENTION FOLLOWS ATTENTION. As an example, if I start writing about shopping, your attention goes to shopping. Here are other examples: Football, horse racing, swimming and finally food. As each word is read it controls your attention and with food for example, you start thinking about food and the same applies to each word; a simple but important facet of life.

Another sub-law states, ANYTHING CHRONIC ALWAYS HAS MORE THAN ONE SOURCE, so whether you are suffering from depression or not, there will be other upsets to address, but the initial upset is the entrance point to getting your life back on track and many people only require a single session.

This brings us to the method itself, which is totally free of self-disclosure, in other words the client does not have to disclose anything about themself or what they have experienced. (See the Abuse article). The key is to locate upsetting events and that is done simply by talking about upsets, explaining what an upset is and if necessary repeating the word UPSET a few times. As explained above, as you read that you cannot help but have your attention drawn to some upsetting event from the past. If as occasionally happens more than one upset is recalled, do this, GO TO AN UPSET! Of all the upsets you have experienced in life, big or small, you have gone to a particular upset. The event that your attention is now on holds the key to the two most negative elements in your life and deep down, intuitively you know this and that is why your attention has gone there.

Locating the hidden elements buried in that upset will put you on the road to taking full control of your life, as per the mission statement, which is “TO ASSIST PEOPLE TO BE IN CONTROL OF THEIR LIVES AND LIVE THEIR OWN DREAMS.”

RESULTS “CHANGED THEIR LIVES”

Some Testimonals

DEPRESSION

I am writing to express my heartfelt thanks for my recent telephone session.

I am amazed at how my sense of absolute DESPAIR and DEPRESSION has been completely lifted and removed after your telephone session.

One minute I was back in the very worst feelings in my life and half an hour later I was watching TV with my wife and feeling completely normal. Incidentally I had felt completely overwhelmed several days before I rang you and in the blackest space imaginable, thank you so much, sincerely B.D. PERTH .

A lady suffering depression reported a year later after only one “MACE METHOD SESSION” “I have not had the slightest return of depression since and I do not need anti -depressants anymore” Thanks Rebecca QLD

I wish to thank you for the wonderful changes in my life since having that session with you. Over my life I have suffered with depression and anxiety. I’ve tried many modalities to heal and change this condition, which has plagued me; counselling, regression, group therapy, attitudinal healing, breath work, bodywork, psychology, John Bradshaw family therapy and co-dependence. They all helped to some degree but the depression still reared its ugly head. After one session with you the change is so profound that I have decided to train with you and become a practitioner, as it is the only modality that has completely eradicated my depression. Thank you with all my heart.

–B.M.

Note: Good as her word this lady is now fully trained and is helping many others

From a young mother who had lost a son and then a husband in tragic circumstances, she had been on anti depressants for 6 years. She wrote after a Mace Session “I feel like a new person, confident about who I am now, the depression has been lifted I feel as though I can handle anything that is out in front of me. I am a lot happier about life and living. G.L . QLD

POSTNATAL DEPRESSION

I wish to express my gratitude for the change in my health and well being since my session with you in early July. To give you a little background, I had suffered with Post Natal Depression since my first child was born seven years ago. After my second child was born two and a half years later I was experiencing severe exhaustion, panic attacks and anxiety. I was so bad that I was unable to cope with looking after the children and travelled from Melbourne to Perth , for help, from family, for a month to try and pull myself together. The depression, anxiety and panic attacks continued on and off for the next four years. I have tried everything from psychology, acupuncture, kinesiology and hypnotism to ease my anxiety. After my session with you I felt more confident and calm within. A lot of my anxiety was removed and I feel I can cope with any stressful situation over which I would previously panic. I also notice that my physical health and wellbeing has improved a great deal. Thank you John.

–Sincerely, J.S.

POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

A Policeman suffering post traumatic stress, who had not slept nightmare free for 2 years, the result of a shooting incident at work, he had even put a gun in his own mouth to end it all. He said on an International Website “One session of the Mace Method achieved what a long list of anti- psychotics and depressant drugs could not, I NOW SLEEP NIGHTMARE FREE. I once said I would sell my soul for one good night of sleep, I don’t have to sell anything, I will be eternally grateful THANKS To Dr John Mace

AN INDECISIVE CLIENT

A client comes to mind, she was a lady in her early sixties, she came to handle an inability to make her mind up confidently, causing her to be stuck in life. The upset we handled was a trauma, which happened when she was an eleven-year-old, their house was burned down, her young brother was burned to death, she carried his body out which was in a terrible state, quite a shock, trauma and loss for an eleven- year-old or anyone for that matter.

After her “Mace Method” session with all the negative feelings and negative Identities eliminated she not only said she felt great and free of the loss for the first time, but she realised she had always remained the eleven-year-old when trying to make decisions. She said, “You know I don’t think I ever grew up” . This bears testimony to the fact that we can really become stuck in a loss or shock and its confusion along with the negative feelings and emotions long after the incident.

Prior to the session she had been agonizing over a decision whether to re-marry or not as her husband had passed away six months before. She had had a proposal from an old friend who had lost his wife. Straight after her session she stood up and said “Of course I am going to marry him, I’ve known him since my school days, I couldn’t find a better man!” With all the negative effects of the trauma/loss gone she confidently made the decision easily. M. Taree

NOTE: This example proves every life problem has a “CAUSE” handle the cause with a Mace Session and the effects DISAPPEAR.

Once in a while a paradigm change of great importance comes along – The “MACE METHOD” is one of them. IMAGINE your life with no hidden blocks or limitations holding you back, also being able to remain optimistic, cheerful while enjoying a state of well being, plus enjoying the relationships you want. If you are not happy with your life you easily can be. Remove the negatives with the “Mace Method” and your true self will emerge with all your potential at your disposal. It’s easy and the results are permanent.

This new innovative philosophy of life is the answer to enjoying a HAPPY SUCCESSFUL LIFE. ‘CAUSISM’ embodies an equally life changing component called the “MACE METHOD” a new therapy. The Purpose of the Mace Method is “TO ASSIST PEOPLE TO BE IN CONTROL OF THEIR LIVES AND LIVE THEIR OWN DREAMS”

DEPARTURE FROM CONVENTIONAL THERAPY

In a total departure from conventional counselling, IT DOES NOT INVOLVE ANY SELF DISCLOSURE and ONLY REQUIRES ONE OR TWO SESSIONS; which can even be carried out over the telephone.

The Mace Method has absolutely nothing to do with religion, but having said that it is generally accepted that we are composed of three elements; mind, body & spirit. That concept is perfectly true as far as it goes, but what the Causism research has uncovered is that there is a fourth element that has been named an Identity. These identities are of two types; knowingly created pro-survival identities and unknowingly created NON-SURVIVAL identities. The former are known as Positive Identities and the second, Negative Identities. The negative identity is a creation of THE PERSON, which is a composite of the being and all of its accumulated identities, good and bad, as distinct from the being. Before causism came on the scene, there was total confusion as to the separateness of mind and spirit. Added to which, the existence of the missing element the identity, was unknown.

ROCKY OR UNHAPPY RELATIONSHIPS are a product of these negative identities, which stop you being your real self.

ANALYSING OURSELVES

This research has proven that trying to analyse or change our own unwanted emotions cannot be done and often only makes things worse.

Edward De Bono (A Famous Author) was correct when he said :

“Logic never changes any emotion or feeling. You can spend hours with logical argument trying to change some feeling or prejudice; you are not likely to succeed!”

Please enjoy exploring how this process can assist YOU IN BEING ALL THAT YOU WHERE MEANT TO BE!

IT IS SIMPLE AND UNIQUE in its PROCEDURE AS THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO PERSONAL DICLOSURE NECESSARY

Defintely a NEW PARADIGM!

Sherrie Hatfield

Mace Energy Method Practitioner/Trainer

www.themacemethod.com

www.macetrainers.com

About The Author

Sherrie Hatfield has been working and researching in the field of Higher Human Potential for more than 20 years. Starting her studies and research at a very young age in the field of human development of the whole being through early child care education, Sherrie got to personally prove that through the early formative years, ‘You give me the child for seven years and I will give you the man of tomorrow.’