Our chance to change the world.......One sufferer at a time.
This final blog in the series will conclude with an outline of the recommended treatment protocol described by The National Institute Of Clinical Excellence (NICE). It will then compare the NICE guidance with the steps of the MAM 3 Process. Concluding with an explanation of why learning and practicing the MAM 3 Rewind Process is both safe and needed in our current birth context.
We have in previous blogs explained in some depth how what we teach birth professionals is not trauma therapy. It is accepted however, that when the client takes the process and applies it to themselves, they may experience what some would call a therapeutic effect, (of course when taught by Mia Scotland, trained trauma therapists and specialists have a powerful tool they can use with therapeutic effect).
Having gone to great lengths to make this point as clear as possible this blog will show that the principles at work in the MAM 3 Rewind Process actually mirror those recommended in the NICE guidance.
What does the NICE guidance recommend regarding the treatment of PTSD in adults and in what ways does the MAM 3 Rewind Process mirror the principles ?
| 5.2.1 Cognitive Behavioral Therapies | The MAM 3 Rewind | |
|---|---|---|---|
5.2.1.1 Exposure |
| No confrontation is required or needed. This is a self healing process rooted in theories of naturalistic learning. In a very relaxed state, while feeling safe and secure the client completes a mental exercise. As a client is guided through the process they have been taught by a MAM 3 Practioner, they are making the neurological changes needed to the structure of the memory that has been causing them suffering until now (*). *This involves ‘seeing themselves’ as the memory plays through | |
5.2.1.2 Cognitive therapy | By discussing the evidence for and against the interpretations, and by testing out the predictions derived from the interpretations with the help of the therapist, the patient arrives at more adaptive conclusions. The patient is encouraged to drop behaviours and cognitive strategies that prevent a disconfirmation of the negative interpretations, e.g. excessive precautions to prevent further trauma or excessive rumination about what one could have done differently during the event. | The client restructures the memory that has until now been causing them to suffer. This transformation happens as they are guided through the process. No conscious mind insight is needed. The changes seem to happen spontaneously. The client takes all the credit. | |
5.2.1.3 Stress management | Relaxation training: teaching techniques for relaxation, for example, relaxing major muscle groups, in a way that decreases anxiety. Breathing retraining: teaching techniques of slow, abdominal breathing to avoid hyperventilation and the unpleasant physical sensations that accompany it. Positive thinking and self-talk: positive statements (e.g. ‘I did it before and I can do it again’) are written on cards and rehearsed so that they can be used to replace the negative thoughts that often occur during stressful experiences. Assertiveness training: teaching the person how to express wishes, opinions and emotions appropriately and without alienating others. Thought stopping: teaching the person distraction techniques to overcome distressing thoughts by inwardly shouting ‘stop’. | Step 1 of the process involves guiding the client into a deeply relaxed state. MAM 3 Practioners learn to see (and hear) the physical signs of relaxation in another person. The Practioner might record the guided relaxation portion of the first client session and encourage her client to use the recording as often as they can before the next session (*) The MAM 3 Process is working at an unconscious mind level. The client is doing the work but is often unaware consciously of the changes taking place. The suffering they have been experiencing has not been created consciously, if it had they would just be able to stop it. * Newly trained MAM 3 Practioners are encouraged to complete each step of the process in 3 separate sessions. |
In conclusion
This blog series has concerned itself with offering you an evidence base for the MAM 3 Rewind process. I have endeavoured to build a robust case for the underlying safety of our choice to train birth professionals in this powerful life transforming process and in how safe it’s use is for the woman our students will go on to teach and guide through it.
I may think I have been successful in doing that but ultimately you get to decide. I often say: "believe nothing, test everything", you now have the opportunity to test everything I have claimed for the MAM 3 Rewind process. The women and their partners who have been suffering after a distressing birth experience deserve better than what they have been receiving until now.
As birth professionals the days of feeling powerless in the face of the tragic statistics is over. You now have a way to make a significant contribution to child bearing women and their partners.
What are you going to do now?
Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you. -- Thomas Jefferson
Please email me with any comments or questions regarding this blog series.
Yours,
Mark Harris
We've evolved The MAM 3 Step Rewind Method with a commitment to safety for your client. After doing our course you'll have the skills and confidence to teach your client the process and guide her (or him) through it and feel relief from a heavy burden.
