How important are beliefs when it comes to behavior change, and the REBT, CBT, change process?

Some people might wonder why I present this on a regular basis. Criminal Justice and Addictions is my specialty. “There will be no long-term criminal behavior changes unless we help offenders change core, permission-granting CTC beliefs first.

One day in staffing a counselor asked, “how do you change a belief?” The supervisor told him, “Well, that’s Stan’s area of expertise. Check with him.”

After taking my NAADAC approved CEU class, an Illinois CDAC with 30 years of experience told me, “Stan, I was always taught you can’t change a core belief. You not only showed me that you can, but you taught me that you must, as soon as possible.”

I hope that answers the why I post this series question.

Counselors and therapists should have a few ‘go to’ tools to help clients to change limiting, permission-granting core beliefs about criminal thinking and conduct, CTC, involving alcohol and other drugs, AOD.

Intrinsic motivation to change is important for criminals and addicts. Discipline is also important. These are powerful feelings and emotions that lead to behavior.

Motivation is the first step in the yougottawanna process. Motivation needs to be followed by discipline. Discipline can help clients to stay on course, one day at a time. Every day, all day.

Now comes the belief part. Probably a majority of people in recovery start out with limiting beliefs about their identity, values, and capability to change.

We can help offenders and clients to break these limiting beliefs. How? That’s what Belief Eye Movement Therapy, BEMT is all about.

You can learn how and get 34 NAADAC approved CEU at:
https://lnkd.in/dM5v3dQ9

CBT map image is from Drug Court Treatment: The Verdict. Amazon.com

You think you are meeting the client where he/she is at. But are you?

Visual, auditory and kinesthetic (feelings) are the three preferred learning and communication styles cited by Ready to Test. This is the preparation text for Certified Substance Abuse Counselors.

Why not be like the people you want to work with? How many people who are kinesthetic are you losing using your visual and auditory vocabulary?

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Dov’e il bagno will get you to the toilet before it’s too late. Once clients recidivate, overdose or go back to prison, it’s too late.

This is a serious business. People die when we fail.

So, to create rapport quicker, to take them where they need to go, be like the person you are speaking with.

There are several ways to determine their preferred style.
1. You could observe eye-movement patterns. See VARK, sensory acuity.
2. There are tests you can give where participants will answer a series of questions, total up response scores, and finally determine their preferred style.
3. You could ask them if they have a preference.

What’s the point? Meet the clients where they are at. Speak their language for starters.

Do whatever you can to detemine their preferred communication and learning style.

People use drugs because they want to feel different. Feel is a kinesthetic word. Euphoric recall screams kinesthetic.

Do you insist on using your visual and auditory vocabulary with kinesthetic clients?

I gave drug court clients a learning style test. They scored 77% kinesthetic. This happened in all the groups tested. Meet them where they are at.

Take the test for yourself. It is in my Criminal Justice and Addictions Counseling class on Udemy.

Why not do your best to use kinesthetic words and phrases with kinesthetic people? That part of the process is on you.

The CBT map image is from Drug Court Treatment: The Verdict. Amazon.com.

There is more on VAK styles in the book. You can learn more and get 34 CEU at https://lnkd.in/g6SGUB-k.

Happy 4th of July America!
“Independence Day, also known as the Fourth of July, is a significant holiday in the United States that commemorates the country’s declaration of independence from Great Britain. It is a federal holiday celebrated annually on July 4th.”*

“The history of Independence Day dates back to July 4, 1776, when
the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, a document drafted primarily by Thomas Jefferson.”*

“This declaration proclaimed the thirteen American colonies as a new nation, separate from the British Empire, and asserted the fundamental rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”*

What does Independence Day mean to addicts?

Choosing to live sober is asserting the fundamental rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness from and, without alcohol or other drugs, or perhaps, criminal thinking and conduct.

What gets in the way?

“In the context of addiction, permission-granting beliefs can refer to cognitive distortions or rationalizations that individuals use to justify or permit their substance use. For example, someone with addiction may use beliefs like “I deserve this drink” or “I can handle it this time” to rationalize their behavior.”*

Why not focus on eliciting and changing the permission-granting beliefs that lead to substance use disorders, and criminal thinking and conduct? Declare Independence!

Belief Eye Movement Therapy can help people achieve independence from AOD/CTC. Please message me to learn more.
Happy Fourth of July America!
*OpenAI, ChatGPT

CBT Map image is from Drug Court Treatment: The Verdict. Amazon.com

Does drug court apply to the groupthink of government? Do the same rules that apply to individuals and treatment apply to organizations?

Everyone has limiting beliefs about something in their lives. We all have something we would like to change. Could this apply to treatment and government agencies? “But we’ve always done it this way.”

Fear and anxiety can dictate behavior. What’s the relationship between beliefs, fear, and anxiety? People are uncomfortable with change.

Imagine walking a mile in the shoes of the FBI and DOJ as they explain away their procrastination for doing what they are paid to do: Investigate the possibility of crime, protect and preserve, consider due process, and then proceed.

What’s the point? Good question.

It’s about beliefs and groupthink. Beliefs affect us at all levels. In my field, criminal justice and addiction, we consider the big picture. That includes criminal thinking and conduct, substance use disorder, and mental health issues. Look at the CBT map image below to see the relationship.

Many of our clients are dealing with each of these issues. Imagine the number of their limiting beliefs. How are government agencies affected by similar issues and beliefs?

Last week I mentioned a few limiting beliefs that affect counselors and therapists. Could these be true of organizations and leaders too?
1. Imposter Syndrome
2. Fear of making mistakes
3. Personal bias and judgements
4. Overidentifying with clients
5. Self-doubt in therapeutic approach

Could these apply to the defense bar, treatment agencies, the FBI, and DOJ regarding their tardiness? Fear of making a mistake stands out for me.

This is why Belief Eye Movement Therapy, BEMT, is so important. It drills down on the issues; the limiting beliefs, and the solution, the empowering beliefs needed to replace the problem, irrational thinking and beliefs.

It is a brief, client centered, solution focused approach that could work for groups too.

BEMT can be utilized as a self-care tool for people of all levels and careers, not only counselors and therapists, and clients. Whole groups too.

Why not try it?

The CBT map image below is from Drug Court Treatment: The Verdict. Amazon.com. “Belief Eye Movement Therapy”, is an e-book and can be found on Amazon.com too.

Everyone has limiting beliefs about something in their lives. We all have something we would like to change.

Walking a mile in the shoes of our clients is key to understanding how to help them. Nobody cares how much we know until they know how much we care about them.

We can empathize with clients as we consider the issues that bother us. As a construct, imagine that you do not have alcohol and other drug problems, AOD, or criminal thinking and conduct issues, CTC. That you don’t have mental health problems, MH.

Many of our clients are dealing with each of these issues. Imagine the number of their limiting beliefs. I have a collection of limiting beliefs given to me by clients. It’s lengthy and interesting.

What are some of the limiting beliefs issues that can stop addicton professionals, mental health counselors, and therapists from doing their jobs the best way possible?

How does this limiting beliefs list look to you:
1. Imposter Syndrome
2. Fear of making mistakes
3. Personal bias and judgements
4. Overidentifying with clients
5. Self-doubt in therapeutic approach

This is why Belief Eye Movement Therapy, BEMT, is so important. It drills down on the issues; the limiting beliefs, and the solution, the empowering beliefs needed to replace the problem, irrational thinking and beliefs.

It is a brief, client centered, solution focused approach.

BEMT can be utilized as a self-care tool for counselors and therapists as well as a way to help clients.

The CBT map image below is from Drug Court Treatment: The Verdict. Amazon.com. “Belief Eye Movement Therapy”, is an e-book and can be found on Amazon.com too.

Changing thoughts is not enough to overcome crime and addiction.

In order to get long-lasting substance abuse behavior changes you must first change core beliefs and values regarding criminal thinking and conduct, CTC, involving alcohol and other drugs, AOD. That is according to Wanberg and Milkman.

“You must address permission-granting beliefs as soon as possible, in therapy…” according to Judith S. Beck, “Cognitive Behavior Therapy.”

If your recidivism rates are not improving, you might want to look at these solutions.

Knowing how to elicit, explore and resolve these permission-granting, core beliefs with the client is the key to long-term behavior changes.

Albert Ellis gave us the map of how to do this with his REBT and ABC-DE Theories. Using the AOD-CTC Cycle – CBT map image below, you can easily trace the beliefs about events process that leads to consequences for clients.

Question: Could this be true for treatment and other business organizations too? Why not? There is a group think or mindset. “We’ve always done it this way!” Why not explore company core beliefs and values?

The goals of drug courts and mandated programs are to: Reduce Recidivism and Lower the cost of treatment and crime. To get long-term results, true improvement, you must first change the core beliefs and values that grant permission to do crime and abuse alcohol and other drugs.

The experts say to change the core beliefs first. How do you do that?

Change your case management and treatment planning and you change the outcomes. Change the core beliefs and recidivism rates will change.

That’s what BEMT, Belief Eye Movement Therapy is all about. It’s about making belief changes priorities in the Master Problem List and Treatment Plans.

Who can learn to do BEMT? Anyone can learn and benefit from BEMT. Anyone can learn to do it for the benefit of others. BEMT respects diversity, inclusion and autonomy.

Message me to discuss a staff training or if you want more free information.

Belief Eye Movement Therapy is also an e-book and available at Amazon.com

No! Not according to Milkman and Wanberg. They suggest that “you must change core beliefs first, before you can expect long-term behavior changes.”

Judith S. Beck, author, “Cognitive Behavior Therapy,” says you must address permission-granting beliefs as soon as possible, in therapy…”

Knowing how to elicit, explore and resolve these permission-granting, core beliefs with the client is the key to long-term behavior changes.

The goals of drug courts and mandated programs are to: Reduce Recidivism and Lower the cost of treatment and crime. How do you do that?

The experts say to change the core beliefs first. How do you do that?

That’s what BEMT, Belief Eye Movement Therapy is all about. It’s about making belief changes priorities in the Master Problem List and Treatment Plans.

BEMT respects diversity, inclusion and autonomy. Anyone can learn and benefit from BEMT. Anyone can learn to do it for the benefit of others.

Belief Eye Movement Therapy is also an e-book and available at Amazon.com

Here’s where to get help with substance abuse.

Have you checked out AI programs such as ChatGPT? I’ve often thought, there must be a better way; this isn’t working long-term.

Relapse and recidivism rates are too high.

Ellis, Beck, Lipton and others have told us how important it is to change core beliefs first, before we can expect any long-term behavior changes.

But what does the program continue to do? It goes on with a check the boxes protocol and claiming we are doing evidence based best practices – CBT.

CBT? Really? Are you giving homework? If you are not giving homework, you are not doing CBT.

What is nice about a properly constructed homework assignment is that it is one, being assigned. Two, it is done the same way every time. The reader gets the ‘beliefs about ability to change’ message as intended by the author. Uniformity. Fidelity. Every time.

AI and ChatGPT will do that for the clients. It will deliver an effective lesson, the same, every time.

Consider apps like Duolingo and Babble language classes. Perfect! They do what the student needs, must have or wants.

I took two years of two foreign languages at two different universities. I always thought they taught the classes backwards. Four days of grammar and one hour of conversation on Friday.

I did not intend to become a language professor. I was there because I wanted to learn how to navigate, streets, a menu and find the bathroom.

There is a Language of Recovery too. AI apps like Babble and Duolingo are excellent ways to teach this language and core-belief change.

Belief Eye Movement Therapy, developed by me, Stan Dokmanus, is like EMDR. It’s also like EMI. My belief is that it is simpler and anyone can do it. BEMT can help you with substance abuse issues.

If you are interested in learning more about this idea, see Belief Eye Movement Therapy, Amazon.com.

“I was exhilarated by the new realization that I could change the character of my life by changing my beliefs. I was instantly energized because I realized that there was a science-based path that would take me from my job as a perennial “victim” to my new position as “co-creator” of my destiny. (Prologue, xv)”
― Bruce H. Lipton Ph.D. “Biology of Beliefs”

How soon should permission-granting Criminal Thinking and Conduct-Alcohol and Other Drugs (CTC-AOD) beliefs be changed? ASAP according to Judith S. Beck, “Cognitive Behavior Therapy.”

This is what BEMT is all about. Change the belief now. Change the behavior…

Message me if you want more information about this.

I asked ChatGPT “Do you see how Belief Eye Movement Therapy, BEMT can be used with the Five Why’s and the Andreas Core Transformation methods of belief change?”

“Yes, I can see how Belief Eye Movement Therapy (BEMT) could be used in conjunction with the Five Why’s and the Andreas Core Transformation methods of belief change.

The Five Why’s can be a useful tool for identifying the root causes of limiting beliefs, while BEMT can help individuals transform those beliefs into more positive ones by using eye movements and cognitive reframing.

Similarly, the Andreas Core Transformation method can be used to help individuals access and transform deeper needs or positive intentions behind their negative beliefs, while BEMT can be used to reinforce those positive beliefs and reduce any remaining emotional distress.

By combining these different approaches, individuals may be able to achieve more comprehensive and long-lasting changes in their beliefs and behavior. However, it’s important to work with a trained professional when using these techniques, as they can bring up intense emotions and require skillful navigation to ensure the best possible outcomes.”

If you are looking for help with alcohol or drug use disorder, you might consider these tools that can help you with your recovery. BEMT is a powerful intervention that can help you identify and collapse limiting beliefs about your capabilities to overcome alcohol and other drugs (AOD). And, best of all, it can help you replace those limiting, permission-granting beliefs involving AOD with powerful beliefs that will enable you to recover. But, YouGottaWanna!