A new report about to be published in the Journal of Neuroscience by scientists working at the Institute for Brain Research at MIT has established that our brains can alter in a matter of seconds. “Our study shows the stunning ability of the brain to adapt to moment-to-moment changes in experience even in adulthood.” states one of the authors.
The changes are too quick for the brain to have grown new connections, and the current theory is that the change is the result of dormant short-term cortical connections being ‘booted up’ in response to some changing circumstance in the person’s environment.
I find this particularly interesting because Cognitive Hypnotherapy is a brief therapy model, and we work on the basis that change -even major change, doesn’t have to take a long time to be achieved. My argument has always been that, if a problem can begin as a result of a short experience, why can’t it be remedied within the same time frame?
This meets with resistance from a lot of psychotherapists and counsellors who are wedded to the idea that ‘change takes time’. As Woody Allen once said “I’ve been in psychoanalysis for fifteen years, and I’m starting to see signs of progress.”
I, and the people we’ve trained as Cognitive Hypnotherapists, regularly see rapid change in clients – most phobias disappear in a single session, and it’s heartening that neuroscience is supporting the notion that the architecture for such rapid change exists within the brain.
You can read about the research here.
Great article and I guess very challenging for those that believe change takes time.
I don’t know why but as I was reading your post, I kept on thinking about an earlier conversation I was having with a colleague about how important it is for the therapist to go at the speed of the client. Of course, there will always be situations when the therapist needs to push and stretch the client a bit but the speed of change, even with brief therapy models like ours (Cognitive Hypnotherapy), it will always depend on how quickly the client is ready for the change.
There’s also the aspect where the mind can change faster then the brain or is it the other way around? In either case, what it means is that change can happen quickly but the client may need some time to assimilate to the change for it to stick and supporting them through this assimilation is part of the process.
Like Trevor writes, the Cognitive Hypnotherapy approach is a brief therapy model, which is very true but it is also important to note that it is also not rushed for the sake of speed. It is always at the pace of the client.
Interesting research which backs up the Cognitive Hypnotherapy approach nicely.
I agree with Trevor, if negative change can happen in an instant, then surely so can positive change. I have often witnessed change in my client at a very quick pace, and usually the ones this happens to are the ones that are ready for the change.
As Daniel suggests, the ‘art’ as a therapist is being able to pace the change to match that of the client, so that it only happens as quickly as the client is able to accept it as permanent.