Memos and Articles by Dr. Yager
Memos and Articles by Dr. Yager
Subliminal Therapy (ST) is a psychodynamic technique that utilizes the capabilities of a subconscious level of the patient’s intelligence to accomplish consciously desired change. During treatment, this level of mental functioning is identified and addressed as “Centrum.” When ST was initially conceived, “Centrum” was a hypothetical construct that has since earned validity during the several thousand cases in which ST has been employed. Patients accept the concept readily and embrace Centrum as reality, not just as a construct.
The process of ST is guided by the clinician via a logical progression of questions with responses from Centrum. In the course of this exchange, Centrum is engaged to uncover and resolve the subconscious cause of the presenting problem. When the cause of the presenting problem is resolved, the symptoms cease to exist.
The use of ST is appropriate when the presenting problem is psychogenic; that is, when the problem is the consequence of earlier life experience. In ST it is assumed that we are conditioned by our experiences in life, usually without conscious awareness that conditioning is taking place, and that the consequence of such conditioning is the presenting problem.
Over the years, patients have presented a wide variety of problems. Some of the presenting symptoms have been strictly psychological, such as phobias and obsessions; however, most have had a physical component, such as insomnia, asthma, pain, or dermatological, sexual or gastro-intestinal components, that allopathic medical treatment has not been effective in eliminating. It is entirely possible that the common denominator of all of these problems is conditioning; they were “learned” at some previous time. Essentially without exception, the “problem” of today was a “solution” when it began. When past circumstances are understood in the light of current knowledge, a problematic consequence can be re-interpreted (re-framed) in a manner that is consistent with current life needs and values, thereby eliminating the symptom/s.
Subliminal Therapy is a highly efficient, hypnotic technique of psychotherapy that utilizes subconscious abilities to achieve consciously desired change by enabling that understanding. This is accomplished in a logical sequence of steps: Identify that part of the mind that was formed at the time the (current) dysfunction was learned; Establish communications with that part; and then Educate the part about current reality, thereby persuading it to accommodate the beliefs and values held consciously. All this while concurrently ensuring conscious awareness of, and concurrence with, the work as it progresses.
Subliminal Therapy (ST) is a psychodynamic protocol that combines classic concepts of psychotherapy with the utilization of the patient’s extra-conscious abilities. Extra-conscious refers to sophisticated, intelligent mental functioning of the patient that takes place without conscious awareness and includes the abilities of memory, objective reasoning and logical analysis. Intuition is an example of this ability. Extra-conscious abilities are not commonly recognized as utilitarian, yet are innate in humans and can be used therapeutically. In employing ST, these abilities are engaged to uncover, and then to resolve, the underlying causes of psychogenic disorders. The clinician guides the patient through the process of ST in a series of logical, consistently rational steps. ST is a brief, evidence-based psychotherapy that is easily learned for use in clinical settings. The theory and rationale of ST are presented in this workshop, including compelling data on efficacy derived from patient-completed, pre- and post-treatment inventories. The workshop addresses applications of ST to both psychological and psychogenic medical problems, demonstrating the technique by treating a real-life problem of a volunteer participant. Participants are introduced to their own extra-conscious abilities in a pragmatic way, at a personal level.
Subliminal therapy
Working with the central processing unit, or “Centrum” is like connecting with your most intelligent, witnessing self or, if you are spiritually inclined, your “higher self”.
This “Self” is able to see equally and simultaneously into the conscious and unconscious parts of the mind, where past conditioning took place. This Centrum can then contact unconscious parts which may be limiting your advancement and re-educate that part to “get on board” and help you/it to unite with the field of pure consciousness.
If the “Self”, as you, wants to explore the mind, then Centrum is your best friend!
By Andrea of Writer’s Way
Simple Explanation of Subliminal Therapy
Subliminal Therapy is a technique of psychotherapy that utilizes unconscious abilities to achieve consciously desired change.
Assumptions:
1. The unconscious exists and is intelligent
2. The unconscious consists of a great many subdivisions (parts) that may function cooperatively or autonomously and includes an entity (CENTRUM) capable of communicating with other parts and of accessing memory not available to consciousness (CENTRUM).
3. The unconscious parts can communicate with consciousness
4. The unconscious parts are capable of learning
Procedure:
After defining the consciously desired goal of therapy, the patient is instructed in the theory and model of Subliminal Therapy and is taught to recognize communications from h unconscious ‑ as opposed to conscious opinion. By direct communication with h unconscious, in a logical progression of steps, the patient is guided to achieve insight regarding the therapeutic goal and to remove barriers to its achievement. Insights that are initially surprising, and perhaps that test cognitive beliefs, are often encountered.
Note:
Resolution of problems may be achieved utilizing unconscious abilities exclusively, i.e., without conscious awareness of the process. And if so accomplished, it is thereafter usually possible to achieve conscious awareness of the work done.
I am often asked about how ST originated, and my answer is seldom adequate. It has been about 40 years since that occurred, and allowing for a degree of memory impairment, I can best respond in terms of the circumstances at the time.
My first copyrighted paper on ST is dated in 1975, following a period of speculation and discussion with my engineering colleagues who shared my curiosity about mental functioning. Conception must therefore have occurred in about 1974 when I began transitioning from my career in engineering into the field of mental health. I had begun to seriously study and teach clinical hypnosis; however, I had not yet begun my formal training in psychology. I had no knowledge of current treatment protocols and theory.
There is a common belief that nothing is truly new, that knowledge evolves from earlier knowledge. It’s a well-founded argument that I generally endorse, but it doesn’t fit in this situation; I had no knowledge of psychology from which ST could have evolved. I was an engineer. My way of thinking about the world was (and still is) pragmatic, and thoughts about psychic issues had only recently begun to occur, largely in reaction to my studies of hypnosis. I began to wonder about how we function mentally, about how to explain the frequent presence of contradictions between conscious desire and conscious experience. I concluded we must have an unconscious level of superior intelligence, a level having abilities not available to consciousness. I could not explain our functioning in life without that assumption. With the aid of hypnotic trance, I was able to establish meaningful communication with that domain in the minds of my patients and ST evolved as I explored and tested possibilities of the pragmatic use of the abilities of that domain.
Out of my personal experience, and in contradiction to my earlier convictions about life that derived from my training as an engineer, I am compelled to acknowledge the reality of true inspiration, inspiration that defies reasoned explanation.
Freud taught us about the Id, Ego and the Super Ego, a model of mental functioning that has largely been ignored by modern theorists, yet one that may have merit if interpreted differently. In this article, I propose and defend the structural concept of three divisions, yet with different meanings than Freud envisioned. I argue that the three divisions are best defined as the conscious, subconscious and extra-conscious domains. The term “unconscious,” as commonly used in defining a mental domain, is inadequate to the task; it is too general.
The conscious domain
To argue for the existence of the conscious domain seems a bit absurd, yet not to do so is to ignore that existence. We are aware, even of our own existence. We reason, remember, extrapolate, theorize and relate. We experience desire, emotion and motivation, we love and we rationalize. We are able to be proactive and to objectively evaluate, and yet there are mental activities that are not conscious, activities that cry out for explanation.
The subconscious domain
Few would argue against the idea that events, especially emotionally-laden events, can have long-lasting influence on our lives. Such influence is represented in our minds in some form, whether recognized consciously or not, and may manifest in mental or physical ways. There is a need to explain the presence of fixed, sometimes seemingly immutable influences such as values, beliefs, skills, compulsions, obsessions, phobias, addictions, and even common habits. Often the consequence of classical conditioning from previous experiences, these influences are undeniably and sometimes frustratingly present, and often not consciously desired. Collectively, these influences comprise the subconscious domain.
This subconscious domain is seen a being somewhat like the memory of a computer: unchanging unless outside influence is exerted, literal and lacking proactive capacity. The significance lies in the ever-present influence exerted by the subconscious domain on life experiences.
The extra-conscious domain
In speaking of mental functioning, there is also the need to explain mental functioning that is consciously acknowledged as taking place, yet its content is not known and the process is not consciously directed. An obvious example is the function of control of smooth muscle in highly sophisticated ways that maintain life itself by regulating blood flow, digestion, respiration and glandular functioning. Such functioning cannot be consciously comprehended, much less controlled. This mental functioning has also been shrugged off as “unconscious” yet, at a functional level, it is clearly different from the capacities of the conscious and subconscious domains. This argues for the existence of a domain of the mind that is separate from consciousness, a domain that is not conscious, and is dynamic rather than fixed, the “extra-conscious” domain.
Other arguments supporting the existence of an extra-conscious domain include the following phenomena that are apparent in life:
I conceptualize the extra-conscious domain as having the capacity for creative thought, yet lacking in motivation to be proactive. There is awareness, as in consciousness, there is a higher order of intelligence than is present consciously, and this is combined with occasional demonstrations of other undefined abilities. In short, the existence of the extra-conscious domain is evident, yet it is largely undefined.
CONSCIOUS ABILITIES
Memory (limited)
Extra-communication (limited)
Inner-communication (limited)
Rational thinking
Reasoning
Objectivity (limited)
Extrapolation
Intuition
Insight
Volitional control (limited)
Experience emotion
Proactive ability
Motivation
EXTRA-CONSCIOUS ABILITIES
Memory
Extra-communication
Inner-communication
Rational thinking
Reasoning
Objectivity
Extrapolation
Intuition
Insight
Volitional control
SUB-CONSCIOUS ABILITIES
Memory (limited)
Communication (limited)
Examples of problems that were the consequence of unfortunate life-experiences and that have been effectively treated by hypnotic techniques, most effectively including Subliminal Therapy.
Psychogenic Psychological Problems
Academic problems
Learning disorder
Addictive disorders
Chemical
Other
Affective disorders
Anger control
Anxiety
Anger
Bitterness
General anxiety
Panic attacks
Phobias
PTSD
Depression
Bi-polar depression
Grief-reaction disorders
Mild and major depression
Behavior problems
Compulsions
Habits
Obsessions
Nail biting
Self-defeating behavior
Stuttering
Tics
Trichotillomania
Dissociative disorders
Dissociative Identity Disorder
Fugue
Personality Disorders (all)
Other
Bereavement
Learned limitations
Self-image
Psychogenic Physical Problems
Dermatological
Hives
Psoriasis
Warts
Gastro-Intestinal
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Reflux Sympathetic Dystrophy
Ulcers
Gynecological
Delivery preparation
Encopresis and bedwetting
Infertility
Menstrual irregularity and related issues
Morning sickness
Post-partum depression
Headaches
Migraine
Tension
Pain (chronic and acute)
“Low back” pain
Organic based pain
Phantom limb pain
Respiratory disorders
Asthma
Sinus congestion
Sexual Disorders
Dyspareunia
Erectile disorder
Loss of libido
Orgasmic disorder
Premature ejaculation
Vaginismus
Sleep disorders
Hypersomnia
Insomnia
Parasomnia
Weight control
Other
Hay fever
Sweaty hands/body
As with medicine, psychology is changing. Our understanding of human nature is evolving, and perhaps our nature is evolving as well. To say that our therapeutic interventions of today are the “final” ones, not to be replaced by other – hopefully improved – therapies in the future, would be an absurd statement. Subliminal Therapy (ST) too will evolve and this is my prediction of the course of change.
Changes in Form:
Without question, the protocol of ST will change, yet the concept of utilizing our extra-conscious abilities in the rational way of ST will not change.
Changes in Application:
I have had a high order of success in treating PTSD using hypnotic techniques in analytical ways, including but not limited to Subliminal Therapy. It seems to me the most accurate theoretical model to explain PTSD is that one or more mental entities ("Parts" as I refer to them) come into existence at the time of the trauma, and that these entities thereafter respond to the same or similar stimuli with the same reaction as was experienced initially. It's as though those entities are stuck back there in time, ignorant of present life circumstances. This is the model upon which I base my treatment.
If that model is accurate, effective resolution of the PTSD must involve re-conditioning those parts that are causing the problem. Doing this will require some form of communication between you as the therapist and the parts themselves, communication in which a process of education takes place. Direct suggestions might penetrate, rehearsing positive scenarios might have benefit, and CBT approaches have value; however, the limitation of these approaches is that they only address the symptoms of the PTSD. In consequence, they are time-consuming, typically involving long-term treatment.
If we conclude the reactions (cumulatively called PTSD) were "learned," it is reasonable to conclude that they can be "re-learned" in a different way, with different conclusions and consequences.
Treatment based on this rationale can be effective if it takes the form of direct interactions with the offending parts, possibly by using ideo-motor responses. In other words, use the ideo-responses as the vehicle of communication with the parts, and having established that vehicle, use that vehicle to inform (educate) the parts about present reality and the unfortunate consequence of their influence. With more sophisticated/intelligent patients, you may be able to establish such communications in the form of a direct verbal exchange. The point here is that the communication must be with the responsible parts, as opposed to working with the patient at a conscious level.
The use of Subliminal Therapy can bypass many of the problems inherent in the previous approach in that the patient's own "higher level" of mental capacities are utilized to accomplish the re-conditioning of the entities, with the therapist guiding the process by communicating directly with that higher level of functioning (which I refer to as "Centrum"). See "Success Rates" on my website, www.docyager.com.
The degree of trauma initially experienced will impact the duration of treatment and you will be challenged to devise rational approaches to deal with different situations (what words to use, what to do next, etc.). Nevertheless, by focusing on the cause, rather than on the symptom, my experience is that most such cases can be resolved in a few hours of treatment. On the other hand, I have had cases that had not fully resolved after multiple years. To my knowledge, however, all benefited by achieving some relief.
Ed Yager