The ABC of BWRT®

According to a scientific brief released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on 2 March 2022, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic was marked by a world-wide increase of 25% in depression and anxiety.  In 2021 the WHO reported that suicide is the cause of more than 700 000 deaths annually, and that it is the fourth leading cause of death in the age group between 15 and 19 years. (www.who.int)

Although the stigma around seeking help for mental health challenges is slowly decreasing, it can still be intimidating to make that first appointment with a professional, and even more so to walk through the door for your first session.  Images of desperately sad people lying on the same couch for years and years, re-telling and often re-living trauma of years gone by, can strike fear into the hearts of prospective help seekers. One therapy that bypasses these stereotypes and potentially works effectively and fast, is Brain-Working Recursive Therapy (BWRT®). 

To explain this technique, let us start by looking at what BWRT® is not.

BWRT® is not hypnosis

BWRT® is a completely conscious therapy and no trance like state is required in order to do the work.  It is a brain training therapy, using neuroscience to change the way in which you respond to stressors or triggers in your environment. Although it does work with your subconscious mind, you remain fully conscious throughout the process.

BWRT® is not hocus pocus

This ground-breaking therapy is supported by science and is consistent with the latest developments in neuroscience.  Research has shown that there is a measurable wait between the moment we react upon any stimulus and when we become aware of that action.  This means that we do something or react in a certain way even before we have made a conscious decision.  BWRT® creates an opportunity to hijack this reaction and teach our brain to react in new ways to old stimuli.

BWRT® is not never-ending, but the results are permanent

Rafiq Lockhat, a Cape Town based psychologist, was introduced to the concept of BWRT® (then called content-less therapy) in 2012. Where traditional methods, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and counselling are unlikely to be effective within 3 sessions, BWRT® can solve various problems within a short timeframe.  In an article by Jamie Bell (https://www.ns-healthcare.com/analysis/south-africa-mental-health-bwrt-rafiq-lockhat/), Lockhat states that “many patients required no more than a single session before reporting significant improvements”.  In addition to the fact that it works very quickly, relapses of the mental health problems that were treated hardly ever occur.  Lockhat explains that it “gets into the hard drive” of the brain.  This produces deep and permanent change.

So, what makes BWRT® different?

According to Terence Watts, the developer of the BWRT®, this therapy really is different to other available therapies.  It does not rely on the practitioner’s intuitive or imaginative abilities, or on the client ‘baring their soul’ to the practitioner. 

“It works to a specific scientific structure that gets directly into the part of the psyche from where the problem originates and uses the client’s own individual thought processes to resolve the issue from the inside out, rather than from the outside in as most therapies do. This is what makes BWRT® so speedy and efficient”, he explains. (https://www.psychreg.org/brainworking-recursive-therapy/)

Among groups of people who generally are hesitant to open up, like teenagers, members of the police force or even people in the prison system, this method has proven to be successful.  It eliminates the need for a lot of talking, and delivers results after a limited number of sessions.

For example…

In practical terms, BWRT® could be used to treat exam anxiety.  One or 2 bad experiences could have caused your brain to over react to the perceived threat of taking an exam.  Before you have had the chance to evaluate the exam paper, or your knowledge of the subject, your heart starts racing, your breath becomes shallow and you cannot recall any of the facts or techniques you have memorised and practiced. This reaction is initiated by the amygdala or “lizard brain” and is out of your control. 

However, BWRT® teaches your brain to respond differently.  It creates the opportunity to pause and consider how you would prefer to feel in a situation, instead of inadvertently experiencing the same feelings that you have previously felt in this situation.  In the exam setting, you would be able to consider the questions asked and your preparation for the exam and respond calmly, instead of automatically going into panic mode.

Written by Marlize de Villiers