United Kingdom: Optimum Health Clinic (Alex Howard)

I’m just saying to show that my symptoms were quite small by comparison and I was intelligent enough to understand the therapy, they seemed to imply that it didn’t work because I ‘didn’t get’ the therapy or understand it enough

To me that wasn’t true, my flash card was something like ‘my symptoms are here to tell me to deal with my emotions now’ I was to read that a few times a day, surely that’s not an ethical way to teach someone to deal with their emotions?
 
Cfs2222 said:
‘my symptoms are here to tell me to deal with my emotions now’
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I wonder how the body would tell you that there was something physically wrong with it that needed dealing with now? Doesn't seem very efficient to use the same signalling system (symptoms) for 2 different messages.

So the BPS crew are basically saying "we know how to distinguish between the two different messages symptoms might be telling you, it depends on whether we can find a physical cause or not. And as we don't recommend testing in case it encourages false illness beliefs, we can even distinguish before / without testing. We happen to earn our money by "treating" the non-physical stuff by the way. In fact we are trying to blur the distinction between physical and non-physical as much as we can so we can muscle our way into medicine and make even more money. It's going rather well.
 
Cfs2222 said:
‘my symptoms are here to tell me to deal with my emotions now’
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Yes, that's all very well of them to give people cards saying that, but context.....

What if you're in a meeting with your boss, by phone or otherwise, who is annoyed that you're not back to work, or you're not back full time and you see something really funny. It might be a good idea to repress that, at least until the interview is over.

Or you get stopped by the police for something you think is unfair or untrue, getting shirty is probably not wise & you might want to keep the rant in until you close your front door behind you.

There's a myriad of different reasons why we don't react immediately to our emotions. We spend a great deal of childhood learning to control our behaviour. This is a fundamental part of learning to live in a social group.
 
Tia said:
Alex Howard runs The Optimum Health clinic in London which claims to treat ME.
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Tia said:
He is an amateur psychologist/life-coach.
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Dont know where to put this, or if it has been mentioned. But did some digging and came over Phil Parkers old websites. Alex Howard is a graduate of Phil Parkers hypnotherapy, nlp and life coaching course and he was listed as one of the two practioners working with PP in 2002-2003.



Our hypnotherapists, NLP practitioner and life coaches
Alex Howard BSc(HONS) Dip Clin Hyp NLP Coach MBIH MIPTI
alex.jpg


Alex Howard holds a 1st class degree in psychology from the University of Wales, and upon graduation the British Psychological Society (BPS) awarded him the Best Student Award for his contributions to the field. He also holds awards in Economics and Business Studies and is a certified trainers trainer.

He has trained with many of the leaders in the field, including Anthony Robbins the world's leading authority on peak performance, and Phil Parker, principal of the London College of Holistic Medicine, where he graduated with an advanced diploma in hypnotherapy, NLP and life coaching . He is a member of the British Institute of Hypnosis and the Institute of Professional Therapists International.

Along with his academic achievements, Alex's 6 year debilitation by a severe chronic illness led him to seek out the best in change work at all levels; mind, body and soul.

Whilst practicing at his London hypnotherapy, NLP and life coaching clinic, he also researches and writes in the field of health psychology. His latest book, the much anticipated "The Magic Pill Within", is due to be published in the Autumn.
 
Parsnip said:
Dont know where to put this, or if it has been mentioned. But did some digging and came over Phil Parkers old websites. Alex Howard is a graduate of Phil Parkers hypnotherapy, nlp and life coaching course and he was listed as one of the two practioners working with PP in 2002-2003.
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That's good sleuthing!

There are a number of former LP practitioners and Parker business partners who have started up their 'own version' of the LP (see, for example, this one in NZ).

My theory is that they have done this to avoid the need to pay a percentage of their revenue as licence fees to Phil Parker for using the Lightning Process name.
 
Art Vandelay said:
That's good sleuthing!

There are a number of former LP practitioners and students who have started up their 'own version' of the LP (see, for example, this one in NZ).

My theory is that they have done this to avoid the need to pay a percentage of their revenue as licence fees to Phil Parker for using the Lightning Process name.
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Yes my coach, who worked with LL in Norway, talked openly about doing that in 2008... Like one month after starting their own company...

I also know of 1 doctor who trained with my coach and started his own mind body thingie. And there is a 'doctor' in bergen who runs a 4-day cure against anxiety. Dont know if his affiliated with them, but one can probably atleast say we know where he got his inspiration from.


Funny thing though. To me it seems Alex has been more succesful than Phil. That has got to sting xD
 
Art Vandelay said:
That's good sleuthing!

There are a number of former LP practitioners and Parker business partners who have started up their 'own version' of the LP (see, for example, this one in NZ).

My theory is that they have done this to avoid the need to pay a percentage of their revenue as licence fees to Phil Parker for using the Lightning Process name.
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I have been wondering if this will happen in Norway as well, since a licence fee was not mentioned in the recent LP study that was cancelled.

@Parsnip the "Bergen 4 day treatment" was originally a treatment developed for OCD and anxiety, but like CBT it has branched out... The work has won the team in Bergen (not Stubbhaug, although I seem to remember someone affiliated with the development of B4DT is also affiliated with Stubbhaugs clinic) a lot of praise and I think awards in mental health circles.
 
Midnattsol said:
@Parsnip the "Bergen 4 day treatment" was originally a treatment developed for OCD and anxiety, but like CBT it has branched out... The work has won the team in Bergen (not Stubbhaug, although I seem to remember someone affiliated with the development of B4DT is also affiliated with Stubbhaugs clinic) a lot of praise and I think awards in mental health circles.
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Yikes ok. Hoping its legit then. All i remember seeing was someone saying 90% is cured within 4 days, so I'll remain sceptical.
 
Tia said:
@Parsnip yes, the Optimum Health course includes the lightening process (they don't call it that but it's the same) as well as other things like meditation and diet. I did it years ago, it was terrible.
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Sorry to hear you experienced that crap.

Makes me scared to think of how many more people/clinics there are out there that sell / claim to treat different conditions without any scientific basis or medical credentials, even in so-called well developed countries.
 
Parsnip said:
Sorry to hear you experienced that crap.

Makes me scared to think of how many more people/clinics there are out there that sell / claim to treat different conditions without any scientific basis or medical credentials, even in so-called well developed countries.
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Thanks. I think I went into it slightly less vulnerable than others. I had already had quite a bit of counselling which was kind and useful and so I felt that I knew myself and my boundaries as well as what good practice looks like and what makes a safe therapeutic relationship. I was also quite involved with mindfulness and even ran a small mindfulness group myself at the time. So, I recognised their talk about trauma etc. as a kind of pseudo-psychology and I was able to see that for all their talk about mindfulness, they actually taught it really badly. The practitioner's lack of experience or training in safeguarding and safe therapeutic practise and lack of understanding of mindfulness was obvious to me. She seemed to have a remarkable lack of empathy and she only came in to 'teach' (read from the material) for an hour or two a day and the rest of the organisation - providing lunch etc. - was done by a 'volunteer' - a patient who was training to be one of their practitioners. I imagine this was offered to her as an 'opportunity' but it was actually just free labour. Despite all this, I was still taken in by it to an extent and invested a lot of emotional energy in trying to go along with it all :(
 
Tia said:
Despite all this, I was still taken in by it to an extent and invested a lot of emotional energy in trying to go along with it all :(
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:hug:

This is how these guys operate. People are so powerfully motivated to get well, they have such a vested interest that they will put themselves through things they otherwise might think twice about.

We had to do a fair amount of motivational training at work - it was a big thing at the time. Self motivation, motivating a team. If you can hook into a vested interest then the job's done.

Of course if a treatment or therapy also questions your motivation in some way that doubles down and can be used very effectively to use your own motivation against you and keep you hooked in.

This can be a really damaging betrayal where someone has given their full trust.
 
Tia said:
I stumbled upon Alex Howard's new video series on youtube yesterday. I found it really concerning.

For background: Alex Howard runs The Optimum Health clinic in London which claims to treat ME. I've don't their '90 day programme' (many years ago). They use various techniques such as the lightening process, EFT, meditation, hypnosis, positive thinking, NLP, positive psychology. And they also have nutritionists who give you very expensive advice and recommend very expensive supplements. The whole thing is very expensive. I think therapy sessions cost £90 for 40 mins over the phone.

Anyway, in these recent videos, Alex is filming 'therapy' sessions with pwME where he encourages them to give a lot of personal details. The sessions are then put on youtube for all to see. Obviously the individuals have given their consent but they've done so having been told that it will help them recover from their chronic illness. They've also presumably already invested a lot of money, time and hope in the Optimum Health Clinic and believe that it will help them.

The videos serve to advertise Alex and his business to others but I'm worried about what benefit the people in them will get long term. I think therapy can be really useful (obviously not to 'cure' ME but in general). However Alex is not qualified except for an undergraduate degree is psychology. He is an amateur psychologist/life-coach. Some of what he says is true and vaguely insightful but therapy is not about the therapist saying the right thing, it's about a relationship of trust and a dialogue that develops over time in a safe space. I fail to see how this is possible when the interaction is filmed for youtube especially as I also don't think that the youtube sessions are part of a long-term therapeutic relationship. The approach seems unethical to me.

I'm wondering if others agree with me about this and if so do you think there's anything we can do? Somewhere we can complain to? I wonder how the charities feel about it and if they can do anything?

[edited to remove link to videos as I don't want this discussion to focus on the treatment choices of any particular individuals but the approach in general.]
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I saw a couple of these sessions. I would term them ‘coaching’ as they bore little resemblance to true therapy. He intervenes constantly as ‘the one who knows’. Disturbing.
 
He turned up at a yoga retreat I was on years & years ago. The place ran retreats for different groups but you could also just call and book to have lunch.

He struck me as being evangelica which frankly puts me off anyway. He did spend a lot of time talking to one or two people though, sharing his theory and
How he felt he could help. A sales pitch.

I really didn't like that. This was a time for a group of patients to come together and just....be ourselves. Give us and our families a little respite etc. I thought him showing up for lunch unofficially,making sure he sat with ME patients and then doing his pitch was a bit.....much. It felt predatory to me.

Entirely different if he had contacted the organisers and asked if he could give a talk to anyone who wanted to come and been up front about it, but then he would have had to pay a nominal fee for the room and we mightn't have showed up.

Instead I felt we were used like fish in a barrel caught at feeding time. All he had to do was pay for his lovely lunch at a nominal price. Seemed cynical to me.
 
Invisible Woman said:
He turned up at a yoga retreat I was on years & years ago. The place ran retreats for different groups but you could also just call and book to have lunch.

He struck me as being evangelica which frankly puts me off anyway. He did spend a lot of time talking to one or two people though, sharing his theory and
How he felt he could help. A sales pitch.

I really didn't like that. This was a time for a group of patients to come together and just....be ourselves. Give us and our families a little respite etc. I thought him showing up for lunch unofficially,making sure he sat with ME patients and then doing his pitch was a bit.....much. It felt predatory to me.

Entirely different if he had contacted the organisers and asked if he could give a talk to anyone who wanted to come and been up front about it, but then he would have had to pay a nominal fee for the room and we mightn't have showed up.

Instead I felt we were used like fish in a barrel caught at feeding time. All he had to do was pay for his lovely lunch at a nominal price. Seemed cynical to me.
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Eww. Just Eww. What a slime ball.
 
Tia said:
I stumbled upon Alex Howard's new video series on youtube yesterday. I found it really concerning.

For background: Alex Howard runs The Optimum Health clinic in London which claims to treat ME. I've don't their '90 day programme' (many years ago). They use various techniques such as the lightening process, EFT, meditation, hypnosis, positive thinking, NLP, positive psychology. And they also have nutritionists who give you very expensive advice and recommend very expensive supplements. The whole thing is very expensive. I think therapy sessions cost £90 for 40 mins over the phone.

Anyway, in these recent videos, Alex is filming 'therapy' sessions with pwME where he encourages them to give a lot of personal details. The sessions are then put on youtube for all to see. Obviously the individuals have given their consent but they've done so having been told that it will help them recover from their chronic illness. They've also presumably already invested a lot of money, time and hope in the Optimum Health Clinic and believe that it will help them.

The videos serve to advertise Alex and his business to others but I'm worried about what benefit the people in them will get long term. I think therapy can be really useful (obviously not to 'cure' ME but in general). However Alex is not qualified except for an undergraduate degree is psychology. He is an amateur psychologist/life-coach. Some of what he says is true and vaguely insightful but therapy is not about the therapist saying the right thing, it's about a relationship of trust and a dialogue that develops over time in a safe space. I fail to see how this is possible when the interaction is filmed for youtube especially as I also don't think that the youtube sessions are part of a long-term therapeutic relationship. The approach seems unethical to me.

I'm wondering if others agree with me about this and if so do you think there's anything we can do? Somewhere we can complain to? I wonder how the charities feel about it and if they can do anything?

[edited to remove link to videos as I don't want this discussion to focus on the treatment choices of any particular individuals but the approach in general.]
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DWP will like them(the video's) as well
 
Alex Howard has published a book
"
Decode Your Fatigue: A Clinically Proven 12-Step Plan to Increase Your Energy, Heal Your Body and Transform Your Life"

coincidence with the name ?
"Decode your fatigue" hmm.

endorsed by Miranda Hart
"A hopeful, practical book to help people move from debilitating fatigue to a purposeful, joyful life once again. - Miranda Hart, comedian, actor and writer"

Amazon product ASIN 1788174593
 
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