Blog

It’s an interesting question. Since clients know they want to change, and often know how they want to change, why don’t they? There’s a more… Read More »Why Clients Don’t Change Without Us

I like to use imagination to help trigger memory reconsolidation. It’s not the only way to generate mismatch experiences, but it’s readily available. Another advantage… Read More »Feeling Is The Secret

Roger Federer is one of the greatest tennis players of all time. He won Wimbledon a remarkable 8 times! The man was a machine! Yet… Read More »Was Roger Federer a loser?

I notice how often people mention what their therapist told them to do. "I wasn’t sure this was the right career move for me, but… Read More »But my therapist said…

I was never a fan of physics in school. I’d even find ways to get out of lessons. As a result, I know almost nothing… Read More »The Interpersonal Laws of Physics

How do you remove trauma response? There is only one brain mechanism we know of that can – memory reconsolidation. You either trigger that and… Read More »The Problem With The T-Word

In Steve Martin’s comedy, The Jerk, his character Navin Johnson was the target of a random assassin. As the sniper fired at him, an anxious… Read More »Don’t be The Jerk

Chris McCausland is a well-known comedian from my home city of Liverpool. He is also blind. In a recent interview, fellow funnyman Rob Brydon mentioned… Read More »The sounds of silence

Most of the quibbles that therapy approaches have with each other are about unnecessary steps. Think of it like this. Two people are stood in… Read More »Are you stuck on unnecessary steps?

When election time comes around all the politicians get to have their moment, debating this and that. They are each engaged in a campaign to… Read More »You’re not running for election

This is a silly title because the brain is pretty amazing. Nonetheless, it’s not the place to look for answers. When working with clients, I… Read More »The brain isn’t so clever

You can have a session plan all you like. But it tends not to survive contact with your client. They, quite understandably, will have their… Read More »When Your Session Doesn’t Go To Plan

Memory reconsolidation is a breakthrough for one major reason. It erases emotional learning. Other approaches build brain pathways that merely compete with the emotional learning. But… Read More »Is it right to wipe someone’s memory?

Every change comes with a price. Even getting myself a glass of water has a cost. It costs me the journey to my kitchen from… Read More »No change is free

The brain needs certain things to happen for it to trigger memory reconsolidation. It won’t do it on a whim. It won’t just discard safety-based… Read More »Brains, cupboards and safes

I was initially trained in a diagnostic form of therapy. But it didn’t make sense for me to apply labels to my clients. I learned… Read More »Missing piece of the jigsaw

When clients describe something as surprising or weird, pay attention. It’s a sign of a potential mismatch. Mismatches are a key part of the trauma… Read More »When it’s surprising or weird

After a session aimed at removing trauma response, we need to check if it worked. Did it successfully trigger memory reconsolidation or not? Here’s a… Read More »Problem, what problem?

The brain is a prediction machine. It can feel like the brain reacts to things. And in a way it does. But it reacts to… Read More »Rewriting The Predictive Brain

Here’s how to remove someone’s trauma response – or any other emotional learning. Think of your work as three experiential opposites. Opposite 1: Your client… Read More »Three Experiential Opposites To Remove Trauma Response

I needed surgery a couple of years ago. Nothing serious, but the kind of thing that can’t be left. I met the surgeon who was… Read More »Are you thirty years out of date?

You’re a coach and you know how to get people from A to B. So you share your knowledge. And your client doesn’t get to… Read More »Millionaires with great abs

Too much training seeks to impart objectivist knowledge. Every day emails land in my inbox telling me that I need to learn how to work… Read More »Too much objectivist training

I’ve been a guest on live radio a fair bit in my time. My background is in the performing arts, so radio DJs would invite… Read More »The Brain As A Radio DJ

Here’s a question. Are you a mental health professional? If your answer is yes, does that mean your clients are mentally ill? When I think… Read More »The mental health v mental illness paradigm

The Invisible Twin is my way of thinking of the part of us that doesn’t want change. The client starts working with us saying "I… Read More »When the block to change is right

Ever read a newspaper report about a scientific breakthrough in psychology? A new study emerges with some groundbreaking knowledge or other, so the media gets… Read More »Passing The Replication Test

The core stance of effective change work is to assume that the client’s problem makes sense. Even though they are keen to change or eliminate… Read More »Shields and Exits

The Invisible Twin is the part of your client that doesn’t want to lose the problem. Its view is that, if your client gets the… Read More »How to defeat the Invisible Twin

Discovery is where we find out how the client’s problem makes perfect sense. The disorder model stands counter to this of course. Yet I’ve never… Read More »Follow the breadcrumbs

Think of how it feels when you are ignored and your need for connection isn’t met. Or you are dismissed when hurting and your need… Read More »The power of meeting unmet needs

Here’s a Dad joke for you: When is a door not a door? When it’s ajar! You might not be laughing. It’s a Dad joke… Read More »How Jokes Fail

In a secret facility in North Carolina, a senior military man made another attempt to run through his office wall. He sped towards it –… Read More »The Men Who Stare At Goats

When clients begin working with us, they want something to be different. There is either a goal they never seem to accomplish or a problem… Read More »Notice The Invisible Twin

So do you like tennis or do you prefer sports? It’s a confusing question only because tennis *is* a sport. It falls under the general… Read More »Neuroplasticity and trauma removal

Formulas are great. But to be meaningful you have to know how to apply them. Neuroscience tells us the formula for removing trauma response: Activate… Read More »Applying the formula for trauma removal

Sometimes, clients bring so many problems that it feels overwhelming to you. And to them. So what can we do when this happens and it… Read More »How To Decide What To Work On Next

A key stance of memory reconsolidation work is that the problem makes sense. In other words, without the problem, the nervous system expects something even… Read More »Is your problem the least bad option?

What happens when we no longer have trauma response? When the nervous system no longer spikes into fight or flight due to things that we… Read More »In pursuit of Mr Spock

Every week, I walk from a nearby park to Penny Lane (yes, that one). But I make that journey with my friend Andy so I… Read More »How to find your way

The fundamental stance of any great therapist or coach is to assume the client’s problem makes sense. Not to pathologise it. Not to assume it’s… Read More »It makes sense

There’s a question that’s so crucial that Uber won’t even send a driver without it. The app wants to know where I want to go.… Read More »The Uber question

When meeting new people, we tend to ask a common question. "So, what do you do?" It’s an awkward question for a psychotherapist. Because you… Read More »Assessing other people

It takes longer to look for your keys than it takes to use your keys. And you can’t unlock a door unless you find the… Read More »The key to the wrong door

I spend a lot of my time teaching people about how memory reconsolidation removes trauma response and other emotional learning. One of the most common… Read More »But will it work with THESE clients?

Remember those buttons in cartoons that say Do Not Press in huge letters? And of course the cartoon character just has to press it. So… Read More »The ‘Do Not Press’ Button

Let’s say you come home and find it full of wasps. It turns out there’s a wasp nest inside your house, and now they’re everywhere.… Read More »Wasps, everywhere!

It’s common for many therapists and coaches to think that our job is to rewrite the past. But the past has happened. And none of… Read More »Rewrite predictions, not the past

Have you ever picked up a cat who doesn’t want to be held? They squirm and protest and fight until you are forced to let… Read More »The path of not here

Daniel Khaneman passed away last month. He was the Nobel Prize Winner who wrote the book Thinking, Fast And Slow. In his book, he shows… Read More »How to interrupt the autopilot system

If you watch two bus drivers closely, it looks like they are doing much the same thing. They move the steering wheel, they press the… Read More »Two bus drivers

Boyd Varty is a lion tracker. His job is to track lions in his family’s Game Reserve so their safari guests can photograph them. Here… Read More »Advice from a lion tracker

Not far from my home is a power station. I’ve no clue how it works, but it supplies electricity to the local area. Electricity is… Read More »How to be versatile

No one is impressed by seeing a rabbit lifted out of a hat. What makes it impressive is that you’ve seen that rabbit go into… Read More »A rabbit in a hat

As a guitarist, there’s a song I hated playing in front of an audience. It had an intricate lead bit – right at the very… Read More »The song I hated playing

Barristers ask questions when they know what the answer will be. Good therapists and coaches ask questions because we can’t possibly know what the answer… Read More »You are not a barrister

Our clients are powerful people. They make change happen all the time. Most changes are so easy that they don’t even notice. I was reading… Read More »All change is easy – except…

So you’re on holiday being driven to today’s place of interest – when your tour guide’s car breaks down. "Is there any other way to… Read More »How Agile Are You?

Ten different people show up for help. Each says they are anxious. Same presentation. Yet every one of them will have their own unique reason… Read More »People Are Not A Clump

When there’s something strange In the neighbourhood Who you gonna call!? Ghost Managers!!! Hmm, doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it? You see,… Read More »Who you gonna call….?

The thing I love most about memory reconsolidation work is that I get consistent, reliable results. The road map is so clear that, once my… Read More »Trauma response gone by the end of the day?

Many therapy and coaching approaches expect you to be able to know and assess what is going on for your client. So there is a… Read More »What’s worse than not knowing?

When clients say words and phrases, we need to help them to get specific. A phrase might seem self evident, but will mean different things… Read More »Get Specific

Memory reconsolidation not only removes trauma response but also erases emotional learning. The formula for triggering this brain mechanism is: Activate + Mismatch + Repeat.… Read More »The Importance of Activation In Trauma Removal – What, Why and How

Hi, I’m Alun Parry, and I wrote the acclaimed book “How To Remove Trauma Response.” I’ve made you this short 6-minute video, but if you… Read More »The Truth About Timing During Trauma Response Removal

The phrase “If I let myself” is a powerful tool for helping therapists and coaches get instantly focused on the right thing in your work.… Read More »Transforming Therapy and Coaching With 4 Key Words

If you want to remember how to trigger the brain’s mechanism for trauma removal, you’ll get some unlikely help from The Muppets (or Charles Dickens… Read More »What The Muppets Can Teach You About Trauma Removal

It is important to look out for nervous system responses. But is that just about fight or flight? Prefer to read than watch a video?… Read More »The Nervous System Response That Gets Overlooked in Trauma Work

When working to create transformational change, therapists and coaches make 2 common errors: where they focus, and how experiential their work is. The Deep Dive… Read More »2 Key Errors When Creating Change In Therapy or Coaching

A key step in trauma removal is creating mismatch experiences. This sometimes needs us to find mismatch evidence that could be used. Here is a… Read More »Finding Mismatches With Scaling Questions

In this video, I want to show you an exercise that demonstrates how our nervous system responses shape our thoughts. By changing those responses through… Read More »How To Change Thoughts With The Nervous System

What are the use cases of memory reconsolidation? Can it help within relationships? Check out this short video below:

Writers on trauma often say that trauma “lives in the body”. But what do they mean by that really? And what is the mechanism that… Read More »Trauma Lives In The Body? What Does That Actually Mean?

Inside The Trauma Removal Club, we’ve been discussing mismatches this month. For instance, to remove trauma, what are the kinds of mismatches that are effective?… Read More »The Importance of Meeting Needs In Trauma Removal

Can we really remove trauma? And given it comes from neuroscience, isn’t it a horribly complicated process?

It is common, and understandable, for people to feel doubtful about the claim that trauma response can be removed. And moreover, even if it can… Read More »Can We REALLY remove Trauma?

Book your tickets here Trauma is not something to be ‘managed’ – but eliminated entirely. Sound far-fetched? It’s not. Neuroscience has shown that trauma can… Read More »Book Launch Event: How To Remove Trauma Response (Feb 1st 2023)

Oh no! Not someone else saying their way is the only way to do therapy! It seems every other month there is someone new proclaiming… Read More »Is this Really The ONLY Way To Do trauma Therapy

When there is transformational change, what is the mechanism that creates that change?

Many therapies overlook what is happening in the body, but here is why it is crucial when helping people change.

One of the most common questions I get is why my book is for both therapists AND coaches, rather than one or the other. Here’s… Read More »My book subtitle Explained: Why Therapists AND Coaches?

Transcript: Hello, lovely people. This is Al, the author of How to Remove Trauma Response. And I wanted to come at you today with a… Read More »Introducing the TR-2000 Trauma Removal Machine

For as long as I have been a therapist, the podcast Shrink Rap Radio has been a constant companion. It has always been important to… Read More »My Interview on Shrink Rap Radio

For the past year, I’ve been working hard on my book How To Remove Trauma Response. Some big news! The final proof has just been… Read More »My Forthcoming Book – Sneak Preview

Here is a reader question about The Rewind Technique and Depersonalisation Disorder: Depersonalisation disorder seems to be something where a person copes with trauma by … Read More »The Rewind Technique: Dangers Of Disassociation?

In the video below, I help you work out what to do next when you are struggling to implement memory reconsolidation. In this video, I… Read More »When You Are Struggling To Implement Memory Reconsolidation