Well folks...

Tomorrow is the last day of taking this seminar for me. Here is the link to what I have been involved in doing this past week...

All I can say is whoa...

I spent over 10 thousand dollars on all of Klemmer & Associates seminars and almost the past two years being indoctrinated with this New Age philosophy that also states that they confront core belief systems with experiential learning.

Well folks... All I can say is I will be working on getting involved in the main course of "The Genesis Process" Which is a 16 week process that is just the beginning of the rest of my life.

Why am I going to step into this process? Especially when I have had such a destructive LGAT experience in Klemmer?

Well, that is exactly why I am going to do so. I am going to get deprogrammed by addressing my false belief systems that have destroyed my life, and was the main reason I got involved in Klemmer.

The Genesis Process doesn't confront my belief systems with a shock and awe that overwhelms me to accept the new age philosophy without critical analysis of what is going on in the process.

This is all about critical thinking, and critical analysis of my belief systems in me. It is all about looking at why they are there, and why I have them in the first place.

It is not brainwashing me by switching out my belief systems for another one that a company wants me to buy into.

This company is not about getting my money. It is not about having me sign waivers of release. Which this company doesn't do.

This company is about helping severe addicts stop being addicts and live better lives by facing, and critically looking at false belief systems and changing to belief systems that are healthy to have in life.

They accept that we operate on belief systems. They give tools to help analyze what are healthy versus destructive ones in life.

It is about health in all aspects of life. Especially in having healthy relationships with others, and not ones based on manipulation, and deception.

I will write more later on this company. But for now. Here is the link to what I am finishing up tomorrow. I will write more on this process later. I will especially do a comparison of this process, and address the complete unhealthyness of Klemmers approach in their seminars.

Which will be applicable to all LGAT's on this forum.

I look forward to posting about "The Genesis Process".

This is a fantastic deprogramming tool for those who have been exposed to all LGAT's in recovering from that stuff.

Please critical analyze this stuff, and don't take my word for it. Do your own research on this stuff...

Here is link...

[www.genesisprocess.org]

[www.genesisprocess.org]


STEPS MAGAZINE PRESENTS
Relapse and the Brain
by
Michael Dye

In very simplistic terms, we have two parts to our brains. The first part is the neocortex. It is located in the front of the head and receives and stores information for decision making and remembering. The other part is called the limbic system, which controls all the automatic systems of the body and the emotions. Most importantly, the limbic system controls the survival responses, i.e., fight or flight and freeze. When you feel threatened, these protective responses tell you either to defend yourself or to run away or go numb. The limbic system doesn¹t have a memory like the neocortex. It doesn't know the difference between yesterday and 30 years ago, which explains why some of our childhood traumas still trigger us so powerfully today. It is the limbic system that is most affected by our beliefs, behaviors and addictions. The limbic system can be negatively programmed through traumatic experiences such as growing up in a stressful or" dysfunctional family". Basically the limbic systems encourages us to repeat things that give us pleasure and take away pain and avoid things that hurt or have to do with fear. Drugs, alcohol and other compulsive behaviors have programmed the limbic system to avoid the awareness of uncomfortable thoughts and feelings instead of making healthy responses to resolve fear.

The Addictive Brain

Events come through our senses and are fed into various parts of the brain. The limbic system colors or tags these events with degrees of response as either safe or dangerous. If tagged dangerous because of past trauma, either real or imagined, it reacts by creating anxiety or depression. If the event is tagged having to do with survival, the limbic system can create a focused craving for behavior that has been associated with survival in the past. The craving focuses our attention on that behavior until we feel safe or normal again. Thus an addiction is created. Addiction is not about getting high but [it provides] a way to feel normal (free of stress). The conscious mind learns to cooperate with the survival behavior (addiction) and protects it from being challenged by a filtering process called denial. The result is the addictive brain.

The limbic system may have learned that having needs in a dysfunctional family resulted in vulnerability, hurt, abandonment, and isolation. In order to survive day after day in a dysfunctional/threatening atmosphere, a person has to find a system of thought that will allow for survival by removing stress. One way they may have done this is by thinking "I don¹t need anybody". If I don¹t need anybody, I'm not vulnerable. If I'm not vulnerable, I don¹t get hurt.

(this is what Genesis calls a survival lie.)

Every time a feeling of vulnerability is experienced, fear creeps in and warns, Danger! Feelings of fear and panic signal you to fight, flee, or freeze to avoid possible hurt.
This limbic process responds automatically and subconsciously. Even after the painful or traumatic situation is over, the subconscious still believes that If I have needs and trust other people, I'm going to get hurt and I won't survive. When trust issues come up today, the limbic system can react with strong emotions as it was programmed .
This fear can be expressed in anger/rage, self-gratification and mistrust which creates a survival personality. Your protective personality makes you feel in control (free of fear and stress) by pushing people away. This false sense of control is often achieved through self-gratification or compulsive/addictive behaviors which temporarily removes the awareness of the unwanted thoughts and feelings... The Limbic System controls basically three areas, food, sex and safety. Which is why all our compulsives / addictive behaviors are in these three areas.

To change, you must reprogram your brain by first discovering these false beliefs and then replacing them with the truth. You will realize, for example, why you have been sabotaging relationships by believing that you don¹t need anybody. The truth is you need to trust God and others. The Limbic System will make it very difficult for you to make changes that involve risk (like recovery) unless it feels it is safe. And it's not safe to take risk alone. Personal change always involves risk.

Limbic Lag

Even though you've discovered false beliefs, uncovered the lies and know a new truth, there is a time lag between what your limbic system believes and what your neocortex has learned. This is called limbic lag, a process that can be anywhere from a couple of months to years, but it will get shorter as you continue to uncover and challenge the false beliefs (lies produced from traumatic experiences) and risk trusting again. You may have fear and panic attacks, but once you go through them without doing the old behavior, your limbic system will say, "Oh, we went through that and actually survived." The next time you experience the fear it will be less, and you will be able to make a good choice rather than overreacting with a fight , flight or freeze response.
Old automatic habits aren't changed quickly or easily, and are stronger when we're tired. Many recovering addicts and trauma survivors have programmed the survival part of their brains with thousands and thousands of instances of avoiding unwanted thoughts or emotions choosing not to resolve with their issues, but to take "flight" into their addiction. Over time, this flight pattern becomes an automatic reaction. With a new identity based on new beliefs, you can change that flight pattern and reprogram their limbic system.

Changes happens one decision at a time. No matter what your emotions tell you would feel good to do (drugs, alcohol, sex, food), listen to what your mind knows, and do what is best or right. If you continue to apply this key thought, you will begin to break the limbic patterns, and decrease the time of the limbic lag process.

Anger and Anxiety

Drugs and alcohol are anesthetics. They do one thing: they kill pain. It is reasonable to assume that when you give up the anesthetic, you will feel the pain, discomfort and uneasiness. Knowing what to do when this occurs is a critical skill in relapse prevention. Relapse prevention is finding new appropriate ways to respond to painful situations. In order to learn appropriate responses to pain, people with addictions have to allow themselves to feel. The two most common responses to pain are anger and anxiety.

Anger is one of the most common responses to pain. This kind of response becomes normal in dysfunctional families where no one can admit problems or fears. Anger helps us cope with pain by physically making us tense, which causes excitement, releasing adrenaline and endorphins, diverting our attention from the pain. An angry response produces a neurochemical response similar to taking cocaine. Neurochemically speaking the main role of anger is to anesthetize fear.

Most people say that anger makes them feel bad afterwards, but in the moment anger itself makes us feel big, right, strong, aggressive and powerful. Anger is a powerful physical and emotional anesthetic. Heroin is a powerful pain killer. When I ask heroin-addicted clients, How much heroin would you have to do for you not to feel it if I hit you in the face as hard as I could? their answer is always the same, right on the verge of overdosing and dying. Similarly, when a person is really angry, he can be hit in the face and not feel it.

Consciously or subconsciously, we have learned to use emotions such as anger to kill pain and to avoid subconscious, unwanted thoughts, feelings, and memories. Many addicts have an addiction to anger as well as drugs, especially if their role models were rageaholics. Healthy people move towards their pain and face it courageously. Although risk is uncomfortable, we all enjoy the feeling that comes through conflict resolution and a clear conscience. Controling anger and avoiding things that need to be dealt with takes a tremendous amount of energy. Repressing the awareness of unresolved conflicts leads to exhaustion and resentment.

Anxiety is equally used as an anesthetic to cope with feelings. Though uncomfortable, this emotion releases neurochemicals that cause the body to speed up and avoid depression. Dr. Stiles in his book Thorns in the Heart states that:

Besides making us alert in crisis situations, anxiety has an additional function. It serves as an antidote to emotional and physical pain. Since anxiety is commonly thought of in connection with pain and distress, its pain-masking function may come as a surprise. If anxiety causes emotional pain, how does it also stop it? In modest amounts, anxiety is an effective smoke screen Here¹s where the trouble begins. When we find anxiety has served us well in a particular situation, such as masking pain, we may deliberately use it again. At this point our lower brain begins to record our response. Soon, an imprint, or habit, develops and we have learned anxiety. In time, anything triggering these learned patterns, or imprints, will produce the anxiety responses.

If a person holds on to two, small unresolved resentments which produce anxiety each day, in a year they would add up to 730! How many resentments do you think a person can hold inside as unresolved problems before that person relapses? What we know is this: resentment relapses alcoholics and addicts. As it says in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous: Resentment is the Number one offender. It destroys more alcoholics then anything else; from it stem all forms of spiritual disease.

Relapse is a predictable process. It has identifiable stages, each of which has a distinctive neurochemical basis. The FASTER SCALE in the Genesis Process is a neurochemical model of relapse that identifies specific high risk behaviors for each stage of the relapse process. Before relapse happens, many biological, psychological and social changes affect our neurochemistry. Addicts speed up their avoidance behaviors, increasing anxiety and anger to mask pain. This depletes endorphins, causing hopelessness and exhaustion. In this state of exhaustion, addicts isolate and feel they cannot cope without chemicals.

Every letter in the word FASTER stands for one of the steps in the relapse scale. This scale reflects a progression of strong emotions that mask pain. It explains neurochemically what almost every addict goes through in his descent to relapse. Remember, anger and anxiety release adrenaline and norepinephrine, which speed up the body. After speeding up we get ticked off and then exhausted.

All the steps in the relapse process have one thing in common: procrastination. A problem that was never dealt with begins each state. As you fail to deal with problems, you move down the FASTER scale. Crisis comes at a time when you are least able to deal with it emotionally. The short version of the Faster Scale is speed up> anger > tired > use.

The Faster Scale is a tool that can effectively see a relapse coming a minimum of two weeks before it happens.

Stiles, S. Thorns in the Heart: A Christians Guide to Dealing with Pain. Washington: Gospel Publishing House, 1994.

Anonymous, The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, AA.

Michael is a product of the sixties and seventies. Like so many others he got caught up in the search for the truth and the meaning of life. He spent twelve years studying and practicing many religions and philosophies. After becoming a Christian in 1979 his focus shifted to helping hurting and addicted people change. He wanted answers as to why people who were stuck in destructive compulsive behaviors were unable to change. He pioneered many ministries including a soup kitchen, a mental hospital outreach, cult deprogramming, and drug and alcohol rehabs. In 1987 Michael and his wife Cathy became full time missionaries with Youth With A Mission. Here they had an opportunity to work with addicts in many cultural settings around the world. One common experience prevailed, hopelessness and chronic relapse.

Michael Dye


Michael decided to go back to school in search of some answers. He graduated from the University Of The Nations Additive Behavioral School and the Bethany Collage State Addictions Certification Program and has over six hundred hours of continuing and education if the field. He became a California, National Level II and International Certified Addictions Counselor. In 1990 Michael and his wife Cathy opened their own residential treatment program and in 1996 became the Program Director for the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission, a large one year residential program for eighty men and women. It was in these settings that he was able to apply his research and experience to develop the Genesis Process for relapse prevention. In 1999 due to the success of this program Michael has been working full time training counselors and churches in Genesis Counseling skills. Along with his private practice he works as a consultant to integrate Genesis into a variety of programs and churches. He currently lives in Auburn CA.

The Genesis Process
Presented by Michael Dye, CADC, NCAC II



WHAT IS THE GENESIS PROCESS?

The Genesis Process is a systematic program designed to train professional and lay counselors in Relapse Prevention by treating the person first, the problem second. The core material, laid out in a comprehensive, ten-unit workbook, focuses on identifying and working through underlying issues that drive compulsive addictive behavior. The Genesis Process is an integration of Biblical precepts for personal change, proven relapse prevention techniques, cognitive therapy principles, and the latest neurochemistry research relating to human behavior. For the first time in history we can answer the question "Why do we do the very thing we don't want to do"? (Romans 7: 15-23)

Genesis is the first process that we know that provides an individualized relapse treatment plan for self destructive addictive behavior.

The Bible tells us that trying to change behaviors without changing internal thought/belief structures is an exercise in exhaustion that usually leads to relapse. The Genesis Process recognizes that a person's self destructive behavior is the expression of their beliefs, so along with focusing on changing behaviors, Genesis also concentrates on identifying and changing core belief systems. Its practices have been shown to be effective for anyone stuck in self-defeating behavior patterns who truly want to change. Genesis is not designed as a self help book (although many are successfully using it on their own). It uses the insight of a trained Genesis counselor in conjunction with the Genesis Workbook to address the clients subconscious relapse patterns to create a personal relapse prevention treatment plan that can truly prevent relapse.

The new Genesis Change Books for Groups are designed to understand and apply the Genesis principals without a trained counselor by following a comprehensive Facilitators Guide.

For those who have the willingness to change, Genesis gives them the ability.

With the HMO’s and government spending cuts, about 80% of the recovery in the United States is done by International Union of Gospel Missions, the Salvation Army and other Christian rehabs. A high percentage of those have basically no formal training or materials for relapse prevention with addictions. The reality is that competent Christian recovery counselors or programs are extremely limited. Our trial studies have proven extremely successful in working with severe alcoholics, addicts and a variety of other addictions. The goal of the Genesis Process is to bring Christian addiction counseling into the forefront of the field by a providing a proven relapse prevention method, implemented by trained counselors who have the knowledge, experience and relationship with God to see those caught in addictions free.

Introductory Process

Process 1 Process 2 Process 3 Process 4 Process 5
Process 6 Process 7 Process 8 Process 9 Process 10
Introductory Process

You will begin to understand some basic Genesis recovery principles / tools and how your addictions have affected your life and relationships.

The Law of Pain
Double Binds
Life Application Homework
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Process 1

Assessment:

You and your counselor will assess your physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and relational stability by determining how much support you have. . Assessment Worksheets

Counseling Commitment Form
Release Forms
Client at a Glance Counseling Form
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Process 2

False Beliefs:

You will begin to discover and challenge the false beliefs that have supported your destructive behavior.

Belief Systems Worksheet
Common False Beliefs Worksheet.
Road to the Wound Worksheet
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Process 3

Identity:

You will begin to identify and detach from unhealthy things you've put your faith in and used to cope with life. In your discovery, you will learn how these things have undermined your attempts at success. You will discover areas of false identity that are based on false gods or idols, such as: alcohol and drugs, food, sex, money, beauty and work.

Unhealthy Attachments Worksheet
Dialoguing with God Worksheet
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Process 4

Life-Management Skills:

This Process will allow you to have more insight into the addictive brain and gain life- management skills for coping with the emotions that contribute to relapse. Many addicts have poor cognitive-behavioral or problem solving skills. This process teaches you coping skills using five life management skills.

The FASTER Scale
Stress Level Scale
Reach Scale Worksheet
Anger Logs
Conflict Resolution Worksheet
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Process 5

Life History:

In this Process, you will gain a deeper understanding of traumatic events and habitual behaviors that have affected your life. You will gain insight into how your patterns of behavior originated. You will look for patterns that have consciously and subconsciously sabotaged your goals, recovery efforts, relationships, family wellness, and success in school work. Many compulsive / addictive behaviors are a way of receiving self gratification and promote isolation due to broken trust cycles and un-attachment issues related to childhood traumas.

Chronological Life History Worksheets
Summarizing Major Events Worksheet
Forgiveness Lists
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Process 6

Support Teams:

In this Process, you and your counselor will use all that you've learned about yourself and your recovery thus far. Determining if you are currently at risk for relapse. Your challenge will be to develop a healthy support team.

The most common denominator of all relapse is isolation. Addictions thrive in secrecy and shame. Healthy people are able to get in touch with what they need, and ask for it. .

Dangerous Situations Worksheet
Current Relapse Scenarios Worksheets

Healthy Intervention Team Worksheet
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Process 7

Dead Ends:

You will learn to understand how your subconscious thoughts, feelings and behaviors have contributed to your relapses. New knowledge leads to new choices and behaviors. After making a relapse calendar, you will recount four stories about failed attempts at recovery, relationships, work or school to uncover subconscious behaviors that led to relapse and life threatening consequences.

Relapse Calendar Worksheet.
Dead End Scripts Worksheets.
Movie Script Worksheet
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Process 8

Deja Vu:

In this Process, you will condense your relapse triggers into a simple format that will be the bas for your Relapse Prevention Recovery Plan. This process combines the information into a typical relapse pattern called the Deja Vu Faster Relapse Scale. You will learn about "double binds" that keep you from making the right choices for recovery. You will then identify the old behaviors replace them with healthy ways of responding with Scripture verses to help you choose the Truth.

Deja Vu Faster Relapse Worksheet
Triggers Worksheet
Double Binds Worksheet
Genesis Road Worksheet
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Process 9

Accountability:

In this Process, you will implement a long term relapse prevention plan which will enable you to continue to grow. You will create a personal support and accountability team for your balanced recovery plan. The seven areas (morals, integrity, romantic relationships, reactions, optimistic outlook, recovery and spiritual growth) are integrated into your weekly plan with mentors to help mirror healthy behaviors for each area.

Accountability Cards
Mirror Worksheets
Weekly Recovery Program Plan
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Process 10

Exodus:

In this Process, through prayer and forgiveness, you will resolve past hurts and mistakes, empowering you to begin to walk into a new life of full recovery. This Process deals with acceptance of a new life-style and release of the guilt and shame associated with the old addictive/ compulsive behaviors. You, your counselor and your support team will join together to pray for repentance, forgiveness, inner healing and freedom from the destruction of generational patterns and dysfunctional family issues.

Repentance Worksheet and Prayer. Forgiveness Worksheet and Prayer . Generational Wounds Worksheet
Personal and Generational Blessing Worksheet
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References

Research Bibliography

Glossary of Terms

Accountability Cards

all the posts that I have made are at this link. I am sorry I forgot to put each link to each part posted. But, this is where to find the information posted.

[www.genesisprocess.org]

I am a little ovewhelmed at this moment. I will be digesting the stuff from this week in Professional Counseling as I digest the many false beliefs in me that I confronted this week.

I am not sure taking the counselor seminar without taking the 16 week course was such a good idea for me.

I was a little overwhelmed at the many false beliefs that I discovered that have been destroying my life, and was the false beliefs that set me up to be sucked into an LGAT such as Klemmer & Associates.

I discovered that I am just beginning a path of recovery from my false belief systems.

I am not a drug or alchohol addict, and I have not destroyed my life by these destructive addictions.

Yet, the foundational false belief systems that drive addicts are also in play in my own life.

Thank God for not becoming this destructively addicted in my life. But, I have let my false belief systems destroy my life, and is what drove my even wanting to get involved in an LGAT in the first place.

False belief systems. We all have them, and they all affect us to one degree or another.

But, the question that needs to be asked is what is my false belief there for? When I answer that question. Then I can critically analyze why its there, and what is is doing, or protecting me from in my life.

When I ask the right question. I can critically analyze why I believe something. Then I can evaluate, and look at what it is causing in my life.

Which gives me a choice to keep it? Change it? Or whatever with it?

Isn't this what a sound education is supposed to do ? Is out basic educational infrastructure dysfunctional if it doesn't build strong thinking, critical, rational minds ?

The great struggles of reason over superstition were fought for what ? To return us to the swamps of superstition and emotionalism ?

Sometimes I hear or read horror stories of how courts function in countries with degenerate legal systems....... and the dynamics remind me very much of the cults we observe here, clear evidence is often ignored in favor of what is "emotionally true"..... meaning the judges know to remain judges they must please the crowd or be totally subjugated to the power structure.... and the legal process in these countries is frequently more of a social fiction that hides webs of bribery and entrenched corruption, or pandering to popular opinion.... however they are well versed in legal language and the appearence of some formal structure.... the judges wear black robes, they pore over thick books, they speak in terms of precedent and principal... and everybody knows how the game is played.... our long and expensive lesson is how hard it is to maintain the cornerstone of civilization, an honest legal system.... and an honest legal system is built from the ground up on rigorous education, adherence to codes of conduct, having words mean what they appear to mean.... cults of all stripe, to my mind, fly in the face of that heritage, they do so most basically by corrupting language and using unclear, perplexing concepts that serve more to befuddle than to illuminate.... we must be well on our guard against the deeply corrosive effects of these organizations, as they may start corroding our "mental infrastructure" to an extent that we could not have anticipated...

I find the most useful Anticult Anti-LGAT methods include basic Critical Thinking training and skills.
Sadly, our schools don't teach it, they mainly work from the Obedience To Authority model.

But there are many legit Philosophy books that deal with Critical Thinking, and also some popular books.

Carl Sagan has a Baloney Detection Kit, which looks simple, but is very powerful. The book its from explains it in detail.
[www.xenu.net]

As far as Existential questions, which includes religion, "spirituality", "God" and the rest of it, all of these can be examined using the disciplines of Philosophy, a basic textbook covers the bases to start...Self, Mind, Being, God, Evil, Ethics..its all there.

As far as Personal Development, that is trickier. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is good, as well as "Positive Psychology" as being developed by Martin Seligman.

LGAT's are a perversion of all of these areas, Philosophy, Psychology, interpersonal skills, etc, and a complete supression of Critical Thinking.
But Critical Thinking is the most important skill, one can put oneself on a course of Intellectual Self-Defense, and learn the skills of Critical Thinking, and learn how to modify our own Beliefs and think more accurately.

Good for you, RS.

It just doesn't ring true with me because I've personally addressed my 'false beliefs' which includes Christianity. I have nothing against the mythological relevance of the Story of Jesus, but I have come to the conclusion that it is ultimately a dead-end road. But, to be fair, like all the world's mythologies Christianity can make claim to some 'truths' that can assist us wretched humans in understanding ourselves and others. I suppose I'm just not into joining clubs/mindsets/collectives because my human spirit cannot be contained like water in a channel.

I'm confused that in your first post you state that this organisation has no 'release' forms and yet in Process 1 there is a section called Release Forms.

I respect the work of Christian groups such as the Salvation Army, but it saddens me that our governments can't do more of this work themselves.