Brrrr, this really gives me the chills. A psychiatrist utilizing Byron Katie's approach, here she is comparing cognitive therapy to "the work":

[[url=http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:mrVkd7AZBwUJ:www.rightbrainpsychiatry.com/home/The_Work_of_Byron_Katie_files/A%2520Comparison%2520of%2520Cognitive%2520Therapy%2520to%2520The%2520Work%2520of%2520Byron%2520Katie%2520word.pdf+%22byron+katie%22+facilitator&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=22&gl=us]A Comparison of Cognitive Therapy to The Work of Byron Katie[/url]]

Here's a link to her website:

[[url=http://www.rightbrainpsychiatry.com/home/Welcome.html]Debra S. London, M.D.[/url]]

I'd like to add to the list I made the other day of Byron Katie "Facilitators". To show how very many people want to capitalize on "the work", and in case there are folks googling these facilitators...

Celeste Gabriele
Question the Mind - Mona Grayson
Yoga and Transformation
Hanna in Venice
Flay Wahl
Return to Center - Irene Bojczuk
Gopita Katharine Manning
Life Support - Jamie Reynolds
The Work in Chicago - Christian
Rowena Mould
Sedona Creative Life - Christopher Fromkin
One Circle - Tania Gerich
Sally Pamberger
Invoke the Presence - Bhimi Cayce
Mike Biskup
Alex and Ellen Rush
Skills for Awakening - Ram Giri Braun
Michael Cory and Jane Jones
New England Focusing - Donna Coombs
Joseph DiCenso
Scott McGregor
Alison Edwards
Friends in the Work - Lea Ann Paradise
Life For Real - Jane Alcorn-Durst
Jay Easton
Meeting Your Mind - Satori Center - Lisa Holliday Lee
Peace Moves - Dale Steele
Tina Tau McMahon
Center at Westwoods - Bobbie Wells
A Peaceful Mind - Suzy Batiz
Richard Darone
NVC Santa Cruz - Christine King and Carol Skolnick
Live Your Radically Joyful Life - Natalie Gray
Gary Clark
Charlotte Price
Life is a Joy - Mimi Popel
Red Mountain Spa - Sarah McLean
Harvest Moon Consultant - Caitlin Frost
Conversations With You - Teresa Hutcheson
Inner Peace and Joy - Cheryl RogersTurning Point - Loralee Curtis
Transformation Breathing - Angela Leake
Ocean of Possibilities - Deborah Bergeron
Sacred Ministries - Rev. Nan Cardella
Change Your Mind Change Your Life - Sagar Simon
Radical Happiness - Gina Lake
Grace Bell
Peacemeal Co-Laboratory - Pete Lee
Insight Prison Project - Kathy Harris
Jamie Crockett

This is a good example of why even though its always better to go with a licensed therapist, they still have to be carefully evaluated.
"Right Brain" psychiatry raises some red flags right there, and her comparison of Cognitive Therapy to The Work shows very poor judgement and is a very biased and flawed analysis.

There is literally not one single piece of evidence, not one single study that The Work has any benefit at all for people. Nothing. Zippo.
It has NEVER been tested at all as "therapy", so her entire brochure has no validity whatsoever.

What is funny is that Byron Katie herself, and her main facilitators say The Work is NOT THERAPY, so they cannot get into trouble for doing psychotherapy without a license. (Byron Katie denied in the past she was doing therapy, as quoted in a news article).
But at the same time, Byron Katie is able to get about 2 licensed people so far on earth, to call The Work "therapy".
Typical.
Trying to tap-dance on both sides of the fence.
Expect Debra S London to be featured in the Byron Katie blog at some point too.

Will Debra S London come a give us her evidence that The Work is a valid therapy? Based on what data and which studies? There aren't any, you say?

The bottom line is MD's are some of the easiest people for salespeople to dupe and persuade, as they have no training in the fields of sales and persuasion. Its possible Debra S. London has no idea of what Byron Katie is all about.

Does Debra S. London approve of Byron Katie taking people's wedding rings and huge cash gifts at 9-Day LGAT psychotherapy seminars?
Is she even aware of that?
Any licensed person would lose their license for that.

Does Debra S. London claim the work ELIMINATES depression too?
You would lose your license for that too.

Quote
helpme2times
Brrrr, this really gives me the chills. A psychiatrist utilizing Byron Katie's approach, here she is comparing cognitive therapy to "the work":

[[url=http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:mrVkd7AZBwUJ:www.rightbrainpsychiatry.com/home/The_Work_of_Byron_Katie_files/A%2520Comparison%2520of%2520Cognitive%2520Therapy%2520to%2520The%2520Work%2520of%2520Byron%2520Katie%2520word.pdf+%22byron+katie%22+facilitator&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=22&gl=us]A Comparison of Cognitive Therapy to The Work of Byron Katie[/url]]

Here's a link to her website:

[[url=http://www.rightbrainpsychiatry.com/home/Welcome.html]Debra S. London, M.D.[/url]]

There is some extremely questionable material on the website of Debra S London, MD.
She is blatantly promoting The Work of Byron Katie, and not providing any evidence.
Debra London MD is also completely ignoring everything else that is going on with Byron Katie.

Information posted on her website is interesting.
She states she was in a severe depression in 2004, and this is when she found Byron Katie. This is because Byron Katie TARGETS people who are in extremely painful and desperate emotional states.
She also talks about how she lived in some Ashram for 3 years when she was 16, so she is primed for this type of Guru material.

Its tempting to say that Debra London is simply naive, and is closing her eyes to the ugly underbelly of the Byron Katie global financial moneymachine. But that is clearly not the case.
Notice how below she gives a PERSONAL endorsement of The Work? That is not an accident, that is to save her from being challenged professionally for it, same as the other guy, David Wise, who gave a "personal" endorsement. But its NOT personal, its on her professional website, so that shows trickery right there. They want to avoid accountability.

She also says The Work is available at NO COST below. That is deceptive.
Debra knows people spend THOUSANDS and TENS of THOUSANDS of dollars at the seminars.
Why leave that out? Why deceive people who are reading your website, and not provide full disclosure?

Unlike Byron Katie and all of the other unlicensed people, she just can't go around and say anything she wants. Lets see the evidence.
She is making outrageous claims that The Work can eliminate the need for medications! Where is the proof? How can she just make that up?
Where are the studies? There is nothing out there.
She literally just made it up.

She also says it does NOT require a TRAINED therapist?
Yet it can stop medications?
You see where she is leading you?

This woman is putting out some very confused, deceptive, and self-contradictory ideas, and not providing any proof for her very extreme claims.
That is one of the most manipulative and even deceptive websites out there for a shrink...shilling for Byron Katie, not telling the whole story, not providing full disclosure, not providing evidence for her extreme claims, and leading people by the nose to where she wants them to go.

One would be wise to completely avoid these types of "therapists".




QUOTE EXCERPTS:
[www.rightbrainpsychiatry.com]
My Personal Endorsement of The Work:
...It does not require a trained therapist.
...
The Work is not self-help or self-improvement. It is a process that results in peace, freedom and an open heart with greater ability to live ones life to the fullest. I am much more hopeful that many conditions thought to require medication may be alleviated by a consistent application of The Work. If anyone can answer the questions they can practice Inquiry.

The sense of peace and freedom that occurs by doing The Work can be astonishing. Psychological inquiry is a lifetime practice that can continue after therapy has ended. I am happy to share The Work of Byron Katie with anyone who wants freedom and is willing to question their mind. I enjoy working with people who are “attentionally challenged”, depressed, anxious or have had years of therapy layered over their suffering without feeling better.

To learn more about The Work, go to www.thework.com and follow the simple directions. There you will find a list of Certified Facilitators that you can contact. There is also a “Hotline” that you can use to experience The Work at no cost.

Quote
The Anticult
There is some extremely questionable material on the website of Debra S London, MD.
She is blatantly promoting The Work of Byron Katie, and not providing any evidence.
Debra London MD is also completely ignoring everything else that is going on with Byron Katie.

There's a "licensed mental health counselor" from the Hall Health Center in Seattle who gives a plug for Debra on her site, he also utilizes "the work":

[[url=http://depts.washington.edu/hhpccweb/staff-detail.php?ProfessionalID=62&ClinicID=6]Anil Coumar[/url]]

Also, here's a long post on Byron Katie by a Dr. David J. Baxter of Ottawa:

[[url=http://forum.psychlinks.ca/showthread.php?t=8993]The Work of Byron Katie - Psychlinks Psychology Self-Help & Mental Health Support Forum[/url]]

And Ken Farber, MA posts this on Byron Katie:

[[url=http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:mn0_g9YHaCUJ:mindfulnessbehavioral.com/abimdraft.pdf+%22byron+katie%22+licensed+%22mental+health%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=22&gl=us]The Inquiry of Byron Katie and Cognitive Restructuring[/url]]



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/01/2008 08:13PM by helpme2times.

And those with licenses forget that if they offer a procedure that does not meet legally mandated standards for care, they, not BK, not Oprah or (fill in name of charismatic entrepreneur/euse here), it the person with the license who is the one who is legally vulnerable in the event that a patient or client incurs harm.

And...its not necessarily a disenchanted patient or client who instigates a lawsuit. Family members may do it--persons outside BK's orbit of influence.

First time I sat on a jury, it was for a medical mapractice case. The patient had not wanted to file the suit.

The patient's wife was the one who filed. (ahem)

For information on what can and does happen when a professional becomes enthralled with a charismatic guru, go here and scroll down to the long post dated July 19th.

It relates to the corruption of the psychotherapeutic alliance between client and therapist. But a similar process might happen to health care providers, attorneys and even CPA's who have become mesmerized and allowed a guru to insert him or herself into their inner cores.

To remember and apply ethics, one has to have a boundaried sense of self. If that self is usurped by a charismatic leader who claims infalliblity, then one may be unable to remember what one once know about fiduciary responsiblity and professional ethics...or it all just may seem irrelevant, thrown into shadow by the blazing glory of the charismatic guru enthroned within one's inner core.

[forum.culteducation.com]

First, a professional whose inner gaze is adoringly fixed on an idealized image of the charismatic leader, can see only that. He or she cannot be fully present to, or see the patient or client. All, including the patients or clients problems are filtered through the vision of the guru. So the professional cannot be fully present to his or her patients or clients.

A compromised professional may seem highly effective if he or she has aquired derivative charisma from the adored leader. But this sparkle conceals an underlying deficit in the area that matters--the ability to be present to ones clients or patients and be their protector and advocate.

Someone commenting on a professional who was suborned by a guru:

1)(quote from an old AOL discussion)"The issue here is relationship: the (syda yoga) therapist, trained to keep eyes strained upward at all times, gazing up at the guru, is not looking at his client. "

A former client reported:

2(quote from AOL thread)" This therapist, prior to his involvement in SY (Syda yoga), was scrupulous in denying clients access to information about his personal life.

'His professional distance eroded gradually. Early on, if a comment arose during a conversation at the ashram which even bordered on a "therapy issue," he would quickly absent himself.

"When it happened between us one time, I was initially offended, but then I realized (correctly, I might add) that it was inappropriate for me to converse with him at the ashram (even as a "samskara") some concern on which he and I had worked together.

"As time went on, this therapist began to engage in some personal activities with the community of client-yogis, and a SY "context" developed in my approach to my work with him.

(when this kind of 'context' develops, professional ethics probably fade into the background as irrelevant--just a hunch C)

"I thought this was OK because this appeared to me to be the most fortuitous marriage, combining all my "inner work" under a mantle of grace.

'I'm sure I'm not alone among his clients in coming to the conclusion that I would win his approval, be considered an "advanced," if I presented my problems, interpreted my experiences, and reached resolutions ("breakthroughs") within that context. "

Another person commented on this within that discussion

"The client, like all of us who come to therapy, wants to try to
understand and heal and develop the ability to be in fuller, truer
relationship to self and others. Getting trained to dismiss issues as "wrong understanding", and to mask the pain of isolation and aloneness by focusing instead on looking up at the guru, is a tragic, cruel distortion and manipulation of the therapeutic process. (unquote)

(Hypothetical scenario: A professional who was formerly careful with boundaries can become incapable of maintaining boundaries after being suborned by a charmistic leader who is on a recruitment path.

If the professonal becomes suborned, his or her eyes are no loner on the patient. His or her eyes are now 'strained upward at all times, gazing up at the guru' MD smay forget their Hippocratic Oath, the lawyer or accountant may forget the ethical guidelines that govern their respective professions)

At least two things jump out: A professional may lose access to what he or she once know about boundary ethics if he or she becomes 'taken over' by a charismatic leader.

If that professional (MD, CPA, JD/Esq. or psychotherapist) has been encouraged in varioious workshops and DVDS to internalize the magic parent image of the guru, and this internalized magic parent immage overrides the professional's own true self, he or she may lose access what he or she once know about boundary ethics. One needs a boundaried functioning adult self in order to remember that one is as a professional, a fiduciary, is answerable to the ethos of care and your prime objective is to care for and protect your patients and clients--not care for and protect your guru.

Your guru if all powerful, doesnt need to recruit you to care for him or her, anyway. The patient is supposed to benefit from the care providers ethos of care--not the darned guru or human potential entrepreneur.

But, all too often, the welfare of the charismatic leader overrides that of the patient or client. And theres usually a sophisticated rhetoric by which patients and clients who have been shoved aside by the guru can be conned into accepting the blame for the whole sorry mess. C)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/01/2008 10:46PM by corboy.

Here is a case study of how several licensed therapists got into hot water
when they 1) let an unlicensed guru give them instructions on how to do therapy with clients and 2) the therapists used the therapeutic alliance to recruit clients into the guru's group.

[www.culteducation.com]

The therapists, whose professions were regulated by law were the ones who took the rap.

The unlicensed guru went scot free.

Two of the therapists surrendered thier licences. The third one was on probation and later got his license back.

Again, this is quite different from the official story told of Jesus, who didnt go around making disclaimer statements and actually warned followers of the dangers they would incur if they put their faith in him.

And, when the chips were down, Jesus took the rap himself. His followers disowned him and went into hiding.

And, since the story tells of how Judas had charge of the money bag, it could even be said that Jesus was betrayed by his accountant--rather different from today's gurus whose accountants cover their asses and help em grow rich.

Jesus faced the music with no lawyer at his side.

Which shows he was not your typical guru or new age entrepreneur.

So...if anyone shows up here and wails that we are crucifying thier beloved leader, remind them that Jesus faced things without the help of an entourage....in fact he was betrayed and abandoned by his entourage.

Imagine Jesus crying, 'My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?'

And a voice from the clouds replying, 'Turn it around.'

One of Byron Katie's core teachings is that there are only 3 kinds of business: mine, yours, and God's. She maintains that people need to get back in their own business and leave others alone. Do the work on their own thoughts rather than try to fix things on the outside and in others.

So.... Why do supporters of The Work show up here and try to convince us of how wonderful the work is? Why aren't they staying in their own business?!

Come to think of it... Why does Byron Katie make such a big thing out of "moving the work"? That totally contradicts the foundation of her approach!

Hello friends:

If anyone gets PM's (private messages) that just dont smell right, feel free to send a copy of that PM to Mr. Ross.

That's what I always do.

This is especially recommended if someone asks us to post something on the board for them, or just plain gets weird on us via PM.

Thanks, C. I will certainly follow your advice if someone contacts me and anything seems "off" about it.

I do want to say that some people have PM-ed me and I felt them to be geniunely concerned and interested in processing the topics of this message board. I have been glad to dialogue with those people privately. Not everyone is comfortable discussing this stuff in public.

Just wanted to say that so as not to discourage anyone with genuine concerns from sending PM's.

That said, I reserve the right to decline a private dialogue at any time.

Quote
corboy
Hello friends:

If anyone gets PM's (private messages) that just dont smell right, feel free to send a copy of that PM to Mr. Ross.

That's what I always do.

This is especially recommended if someone asks us to post something on the board for them, or just plain gets weird on us via PM.