
BWRT® for Anxiety
Brain Working Recursive Therapy®
In Florida
You’re getting ready for yet another therapy session. In a rush, as usual, you grab the latest book your therapist suggested you read and try to remember what you were supposed to be focusing on this week. You think about what you might talk about and what you want to get out of therapy today. Your thoughts start down another path and you begin reflecting on how kind your therapist is and how pleasant it is to have someone to talk to…but it’s been years. How much longer until I really feel like my symptoms have lifted? How many more sessions can I pay for? Is there another type of therapy out there that I’m missing?
If you have asked yourself these questions or if you’re new to therapy and hoping to avoid ever finding yourself asking them in the first place, it is time to learn about BWRT®.
Let’s try something different.
First, a word from the BWRT®International Institute:
‘BWRT®’ stands for ‘BrainWorking Recursive Therapy®’, which is a model of psychology and psychotherapy created by UK professional therapist, Terence Watts, MCGI. 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 similar 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 be completely successful. Only bona fide BWRT practitioners have been trained to deliver BWRT® and they adhere to a strict ethical code.
BWRT® is a relatively new therapy. While the technique has grown in popularity throughout Europe and other parts of the world, it really hasn’t found its way to the United States. At this point, there are only a small (but growing!) number of therapists trained in BWRT® in the country. I am so happy to be one of them, and I am so happy to be able to offer this truly unique therapy to you!
Let’s Dive Into the Details:
How does BWRT®work?
In 1983, the scientist Benjamin Libet made a really interesting discovery that all decisions are made by a ‘silent’ part of the physical brain around a half to a third of a second before we become aware of them.
This means there’s a ‘cognitive gap’ between the brain starting to react and you realizing what the reaction actually is…so no matter how hard to try to make adjustments to your reactions, the silent part of the brain is always one step ahead of you.
This silent part of the brain is the Cerebellum and the brain stem and an astounding 80% of the brains total neuron count is housed here. In fact, based on mathematics from Libet’s experiment, an impulse travels through 50 meters of neural pathways or 50,000 neurons by the time it reaches full awareness and we are able to act on it.
Every impulse that comes in from the outside world – and there are millions of them every second – is tested against previously stored information to see if it is part of a recognized pattern so that some sort of suitable response can be triggered.
You might already be able to see that many ‘symptoms’ are the result of a behavior or thought pattern ‘firing up’ that has been activated before. It might actually have been a suitable or effective response at one time but the fact that it isn’t now doesn’t matter to that non-reasoning part of the brain.
And this is where I come in with BWRT®, I’ve been trained to use this simple technique to help do some reprogramming in that silent part of the brain so that you can get the response that you want rather than continue with the outdated one that is no longer working for you.
If any of this (or all of it!) is confusing to you, no worries, we will discuss how BWRT® works in depth during our first session. We will not begin until you feel you have a good understanding.
What issues can BWRT® help with?
BWRT® is very versatile and can be used to treat many ‘brain health’ diagnoses, including PTSD, depression, anxiety, OCD, addictions, and eating disorders. BWRT® can also assist with other issues that commonly bring people into therapy such as relationship difficulties, limiting beliefs that are holding back success, procrastination, or struggles with managing anger.
As you may have guessed, however, I am going to focus on how BWRT® can help with anxiety, as this is the sole focus of Newfound Therapy. I am currently trained in BWRT® Level 1 as well as ‘Taster’ sessions (more details below). I am trained to use BWRT® to work effectively with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), fears and phobias, commitment anxiety, fear of failure, and performance anxiety. If you aren’t sure if your anxiety or stress symptoms fit this list, don’t worry, schedule a free consult and we will explore together if my skills and expertise will be a good fit to help you get wonderful results!
How many sessions of BWRT® will I need?
BWRT® is designed to be a solution-focused form of therapy. This is probably my favorite part! My goal for Newfound Therapy is to work quickly and efficiently to make a big impact in your life. I do not want to see you get ‘stuck’ in therapy for years. BWRT® helps me reach this goal! It is quick. Naturally I cannot give you an exact number of sessions, as everyone’s situation is different, but I can promise you that my goal is always to see you succeed and say ‘goodbye’ to me as soon as possible. Of course, if BWRT® works well for you, you may find that you would like to continue therapy in order to work on other issues in your life!
What is a ‘Taster’ Session?
Speaking of not being in therapy for years, if you are experiencing anxiety or fear surrounding a specific event or phobia, a single ‘taster’ session may allow you to be free of this issue. These sessions involve a specific, brief, intake questionnaire and protocol that can be completed in only one session. A ‘taster’ session would be appropriate for direct phobias/fears (such as spiders, dogs, needles), or events that cause anxiety such as dentist/doctor visits, public speaking, examinations, meeting strangers, flying, using the phone, and so many more!
Does BWRT® work for everyone?
BWRT® boasts a high success rate and is said to be long-lasting, usually permanent! However, like any form of therapy, it does not work for everyone and there is no guarantee that it will work effectively for you. Of course it is important to be aware of this upfront.