Have you had years of talk therapy and are still struggling?

Are you looking to go deeper?

Coherence Therapy might be for you.

What is Coherence Therapy?

Coherence Therapy (CT) was developed by Bruce Ecker and Laurell Hulley to facilitate the process of transformational change through memory reconsolidation. Memory reconsolidation is the brain’s built in process and mechanism for revising what was previously learned and now held in memory.

It used to be believed that to tap into the subconscious mind, years of psychoanalysis would be necessary or deep states of hypnosis would be needed. That’s not actually true. Essentially, the subconscious mind is alive and accessible using experiential therapy such as Coherence Therapy.

To explain, Coherence Therapy views a “symptom” or “problem pattern” as coherent. Basically, this means that the symptom makes sense. For example, if you were bullied as a child in grade school and now as an adult you get nervous and avoid social settings, this would be coherent. Your brain learned that people might be mean or judgemental and it’s safer to avoid social settings. Coherence Therapy’s goal is to understand why a symptom is emotionally necessary to your brain. From this, change work is facilitated. 

Coherence Therapy Can Help With

Depression

Anxiety

Procrastination

Trauma

Stuckness

Phobias

Fear of moving forward

Self criticalness

More…

The Brain is a Learning Machine

Without us even knowing, our brains are constantly scanning the environment and questioning- am I safe? While the brain is taking in the present moment, it’s mostly assessing the present moment based on your history, every thing you learned. Basically, the brain wears history colored glasses! The brain also has a negativity bias. Negativity bias means that when something scary or bad happens to you (something negative), the brain stores this as very important information. After all, the brain is wired for survival. This is stored in the brain as a schema- a mental model of how the world works.

Unfortunately the brain doesn’t know time. So if you were bullied in grade school, the brain doesn’t know that you’re 45 years old now. It’s still protecting you by sending anxiety, panic, body tension, or other uncomfortable feelings. Understandably, these are feelings you no longer want to experience.

What Happens in a CT session?

Coherence Therapy is structured to specifically bring about change through memory reconsolidation. 

First, in a therapy session the therapist and client decide what the client wants to shift or change. Then the therapist guides the client through a process called Discovery. This process aims to find out why a symptom might be emotionally necessary to have. Importantly, this information is usually held in the subconscious mind. The therapist guides the client to bump into this unknown information. This information might show as a belief/ schema, a somatic sensation, an image, or some other knowing. 

Once the underlying material is discovered, why a symptom might be emotionally necessary, the therapist then guides the client through an unlearning process. 

Between sessions, clients are given a “card” also what we call a “statement”. This is a very important integration piece that the client reads throughout the week to understand why their symptom is emotionally necessary. The statement gets updated each session as new information emerges.  

Why Coherence Therapy is Different

Most therapy looks at a symptom as maladaptive or irrational. Classic Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) uses terms such as “cognitive distortions”. A Coherence Therapy Therapist would disagree that there is something distorted about one’s thinking. A CT therapist would tell you- of course you are thinking that! Your brain is trying to help you.

Examples:

Client symptom: “I must always think about what I am going to say before I say it in social settings, even though it’s exhausting”. This symptom is emotionally necessary because the client’s mother shamed him as a child and told him he wasn’t smart”.

Client symptom: “I can’t control my anger towards my husband”. This symptom is emotionally necessary because anger was the only way she got attention from her parents as a teenager.

Coherence Therapy is a Non- Counteractive Therapy

CBT and many other therapies are counteractive. Simply put, if you have the belief “Most people don’t like me”, CBT would have you challenge that thought. A CBT therapist might say- “Is that a generalization of all people?” OR “Maybe you are fortune telling?”. 

Now I am not stating that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is bad. After all, it’s helped a lot of people. But overall, it is not a therapy that supports transformational change through memory reconsolidation.

Why I Love Coherence Therapy

Seven years ago I was sitting in my Los Angeles apartment off of Wilshire Blvd and was Googling treatments for Misophonia (a complex sound sensitivity syndrome). In my exploration, this is when I came across published articles on Memory Reconsolidation. I was amazed and excited. As a result, I dove into reading materials and videos by Bruce Ecker and others from the Coherence Therapy Institute. Currently, I am in a bi-weekly consultation group with Bruce Ecker and Dr. Tori Olds. I continue to do consultations with top trainers to advance my skills.

I watched my clients actually change.

I’ve supported clients with all sorts of tough issues. While I use many therapy modalities, CT is my number one. Overall, it just makes sense. Sometimes I might blend somatics or parts work into my CT sessions. But the core essence remains the same- Find the emotional learning that keeps the symptom necessary and lead the client through unlearning. To sum up, Coherence Therapy has changed me as a therapist and as a person. I am filled with gratitude. 

Reach Out

I am a certified practitioner of Coherence Therapy. My therapy office is located in Ventura California, close to Ojai, Santa Barbara, Oxnard, Camarillo, and Thousand Oaks. I also see clients online in Los Angeles County and all over California. I offer a complementary 20-minute phone call to discuss working together and to see if Coherence Therapy is right for you. Feel free to call or send me an email to set up an appointment.