by Kelly Burris PhD December 29, 2013
Everything you have ever seen, heard, felt, tasted or smelled since your first breath is stored in your subconscious. The subconscious uses this information to determine how you will emotionally respond to your world. How well you remember anything is determined by the emotional impact at the time of the event. The result may not be as significant as post-traumatic stress but it can still have an impact, which can ultimately bring about an unwanted behavior.
by Kelly Burris PhD December 27, 2013
Females under age 30 who are not under 15% body fat, are not involved in drugs or alcohol and are still functioning normally at school or work have consistently taken control of their eating disorder with the Subconscious Restructuring™ Process in two two-hour sessions. Anorexics are a unique demographic.  All I have worked with over the past 23 years have been either well educated, very bright or both. This disorder in large part is about control. Once an anorexic learns how to take control of the internal processes that determine their emotional state, they will continue to use Burris Emotional Measurement and the SR™ process on their own. This is the only demographic that will do this consistently.
by Kelly Burris PhD December 25, 2013
Emotion precedes everything we do in life, this is why a couple of the proverbial questions from psychotherapists is “How did that make you feel” or “How do you feel about that?” When one understands, the primary issue concerning disordered behavior the absolute first step is clearly to measure emotion. This could not be more evident than with the diagnosis of ADHD and ADD with children. Skipping the process of Emotional Measurement enables the pharmaceutical companies to cast a wider and wider net in regard to all human behavior.
by Kelly Burris PhD November 29, 2013
People seek out psychotherapists and psychiatrists because they are emotionally distressed and for no other reason I am aware. For this single reason, the answer to the above question should be perfectly clear however when I ask a client this question who has been in therapy for several years there is always a hesitation. The next question I ask is did your therapist measure and track your emotional state. The answer again is no. This is at minimum very curious considering everything we do as human beings is emotionally driven. Emotion precedes behavior therefore, emotion has everything to do with depression, ADHD, and yes even weight loss. Below we will take a look at each one of these issues and how Emotional Measurement is missing or completely passed over in favor of other treatments. Depression
by Beau Chatham February 27, 2013
We’ve all said it once in our lives, right?  Maybe not publicly, but we’ve certainly thought this to ourselves at some point in our adult life.  When we do verbalize it, we say this when we encounter something that is blatantly wrong.  It’s when something grabs your attention that is so poorly thought out, yet it still exists, it cocks your head to the side.  We’re not so shocked at how perverse the act is, but more so that we didn’t really focus enough to see it before, as “a WTF” has probably been around for a while…we just never noticed it before.  Even if we saw it, we didn’t let it sink in long enough to see how wrong it truly is.  What hurts us most about a WTF is the emotional state that explodes inside us that can only be described as shame.
by Beau Chatham September 12, 2012
Were you watching? Apparently, you were.  According to the BBC, it was the “most watched sporting event for their country on record.”  The U.S. reports that it was the “second most watched event in American TV history”, trailing only the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.  With viewership like this, chances are pretty good you watched at least 1 Olympic competitive event. Which moment was your favorite? Was it Usain Bolt’s flashing speed in the 100 and 200 meters? How about the Browlee brothers blistering run pace in the men’s triathlon? Who didn’t cheer for Gabby Douglas’ Gold Medal performance in gymnastics? One of my favorites was Galen Rupp’s “from out of nowhere” Silver Medal in the 10,000 meters.  Where did he come from? You might have cheered for May-Treanor and Walsh as they three-peated in beach volleyball?
by Beau Chatham July 17, 2012
“Leadership.”  “Setting the example.”  “If you’re gonna talk the talk, you better walk the walk.”  You’ve heard them all! If you’ve spent more than a day on this earth reading about or helping our wounded warriors, you’ve heard these phrases and words when it comes to the subject of integrity.   Yeah, integrity!  Integrity comes from the Latin word, integritas meaning the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished.  Simply put when we do what we say we will do, we INTEGRATE our words with our actions. Consequently, when we commit to certain actions only to shy away from the hard truth, our integrity is reduced. From time to time, as I write this blog, I question my own authenticity and integrity. I do this for 2 reasons: 1.  I want to ensure I set a good example
by Dr. Jeffrey T. Litchford June 27, 2012
1.  I wish I hadn't worked so hard. 2.  I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. 3.  I wish I had let myself be happier. 4 . I wish I had had the courage to express my true self. 5.  I wish I'd lived a life true to my dreams, instead of what others expect of me. Ever so often, it's not a bad idea to stop and take inventory of how we are doing on these issues. How are you doing today? As long as we are above ground and drawing breath, we can make changes.
by Beau Chatham June 20, 2012
Do these statements sound like anything you’ve ever said to yourself? “I’m going to stop losing my temper.”
 “I’m going to quit procrastinating.”
 “I’m going to stop doing all the work and delegate.” At some stage in our life, we’ve all promised ourselves to make some type of change. We either made the promise, or it was made for us due to something life handed us, like a new job, a relocation, or the loss of a loved one. We have the best intentions in the world and may even begin to move in a different direction, but ultimately we end up back where we started. I see this a lot as a life coach, so if you’re reading this and think I’m singling you out; don’t think you’re the only one. Now some people will say that “you’re not motivated” or you “don’t have any willpower.” I say, it’s because you don’t know how your brain works. Don’t believe me?
by Beau Chatham June 12, 2012
We all talk to ourselves.   We do it continuously throughout the day. You may not even notice you’re doing it, but you do. I promise. Now I’m not talking about signs of mental illness where people have conversations with themselves. What I’m focusing on today is how we talk to ourselves, either out loud or to ourselves in our minds, about the situations we find ourselves in. I point this out because it was the subject of a recent discussion I had with a group of veterans. It went like this: Sitting in a circle, I asked the group, “As it relates to your healing process, what was the last best question your asked yourself? For a moment there was silence. Then a voice asked, “Can you give us an example?” I shook my head NO and added, “I can’t read your mind, so I don’t know what questions you ask of yourself while you are trying to heal?” The silence continued.
by Beau Chatham May 10, 2012
In Greek mythology, Achilles was a hero of the Trojan War.  He was also the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's tragedy entitled "The Iliad". Now you’re probably wondering what this little slice of history has to do with our Wounded Warriors of today?  Actually there is much that a character from Homer’s Iliad can teach us about where we currently are and what is to come regarding our modern day warriors; specifically our military weaknesses, our post-war emotions, and how this war (in my honest opinion) will greatly impact our society. A Warrior’s Perspective on Weakness
by Beau Chatham April 20, 2012
A wise man once said, “There is never a wrong time to begin moving in the right direction.” When it comes to the mental health care we provide to our returning combat vets, I believe we are reaching a point where that “time to change direction” will be lost forever. WARNING: IF YOU HAVE THIN SKIN AND ARE PART OF THE MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM TREATING OUR WARRIORS, I AM ABOUT TO STEP ON YOUR TOES! If you followed my last posts, you may remember that I was defining the paradigm or treatment algorithm that our healthcare leaders have developed for veterans presenting with combat stress. 1. We put our warriors on unproven medications. 2. We subject them to counseling methods that are backward focused 3. We “sentence” our warriors to a system that is run mostly by non-veterans with no incentive to help them. This solution is not working. That’s not my opinion. It’s a fact! Blinded Me With Science
by Beau Chatham February 13, 2012
As we ended last week’s blog, I was suggesting that the solution in changing the behavior in our wounded warriors would be found in addressing the emotional states caused by combat. Unfortunately, this is not what we do. As most of you know, when our warriors become combat ineffective from the “unseen wounds” of war, their first-line choices for healing are medication and/or exposure therapy. In essence, we offer them mind-numbing medications to suppress the “emotional side of the equation” and we offer exposure therapy to address the “behavior side of the equation.” I know now there are better first steps to heal our warriors. I also believe using the above-mentioned first-line options are a huge disservice to the majority of our warriors. Bear with me as we take a look first at medical management of PTSD. No Pill is Gonna Cure My Ill
by Beau Chatham February 3, 2012
We've all heard this analogy when describing a flawed approach..."trying to put a square peg into a round hole", right?  It couldn't be more true when we refer to our current mental health approach with combat veterans.  As recent as yesterday, we read that combat troop ailments are creating a medical backlog in the already strained system.  To make matters worse, I will suggest today that what we are doing is totally inadequate and that the fundamental approach of treatment is flawed!
by Beau Chatham January 2, 2012
 
by Beau Chatham December 1, 2011
When working with wounded combat vets, I sometimes encounter “the question” from caregivers and spouses that I find difficult to answer or explain.  So in this week’s post, I wanted to share a bit of insight I have recently gained in the hope it will be beneficial for some of my readers.
by Dr. Jeffrey T. Litchford November 21, 2011
I first apologize for my absence for a while.  My mother passed away in August and I took some time  for introspection and remembering. Our brains are wired in such an amazing way.  Whatever we think and speak about immediately become a target or goal for our subconscious mind.  Once we entertain a thought or speak a word our mind takes it as instructions for what we desire whether its what we intended or not. 
by Beau Chatham October 24, 2011
Most of you that are consistent readers of my blog know I attempt to provide a positive and empowering approach to healing PTSD.  Providing insight “through a warrior’s eyes”, I think, can be beneficial for many of the motivated clients I work with.  By focusing on their Objectives, we work together using tools, encouragement, and reinforcement for the positive gains they make.   Along with the tools of Subconscious Restructuring®, together, we are achieving outstanding results!
by Dr. Jeffrey T. Litchford August 7, 2011
Let's expand on the theme of motivation.  Our conscious thoughts impact our subconscious mind which determines whether our motivation is centered in moving "toward" something desired or "away" from something feared / unwanted.  
by Dr. Jeffrey T. Litchford July 18, 2011
The topic of motivation seems to be ever present in  books and articles.  It is an area of great interest and concern in our society.  In fact, there is a career field, a profession, dedicated solely to the topic of motivation.  This profession is filled with an array of amazing 'Motivational Speakers'!  We all need a little help now and then with our motivation. What motivates you?  How are you moved to action?  No, I'm not asking what causes inspire you.  I'm asking, how are you motivated?  How you are motivated determines to a great extent the quality of your performance in anything and the joy in your life.

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