The Speakmans? I don't get what they do.

[donners312]

Fears and phobias are irrational and they just seem to appeal to your logical mind to combat them.

I don't get what methodology they use and I'm sure people just go along and agree with them to get away.

What they do doesn't make sense to me what am I missing?

They are really aware of how PTSD manifests and takes how it takes hold.
They are not as daft as some of you are implying.
They get it.

Ahhh - quick Google search shows their agent to be James Grant... so the same outfit as Holly / Phil / 99% of daytime TV.
No wonder their agent gets them on This Morning

oh good detective work!!

ombrerose. I’m sure they’re lovely people, I’m sure they mean well, I’m sure they ‘get it’ but speaking as a trauma psychotherapist (I’m an EMDR and T-CBT therapist) that doesn’t make them qualified to handle clients who may have considerable and complex needs. Phobias are one thing but trauma is quite another and ‘getting’ what trauma is just isn’t enough. I’ve seen patients whose difficulties have been made worse by ‘therapists’ who didn’t know what they were doing.

I think a combination of hypnosis, NLP and flooding (largely discredited because it only works temporarily AND has a reverb effect - ie makes the issue come back WORSE).

I think the "patients" are still partially hypnotised when they "prove" they're cured. NEVER seen them do a follow up with anyone.

Pair of quacks! And dangerous ones at that.

If their "method" was genuine and really worked they'd be marketing the crap out of it not keeping It a secret!

Gottagetmoving what an ignorant post. Phobias absolutely ARE serious I've lost any semblance of a normal life due to a variety of phobias which so far nobody has been able to effectively treat.

"Irrational fears are learned behaviour so they can be unlearned" ffs - great - tell me how! One I've had almost all my life would LOVE a quick easy cure.

"It would be interesting to know if there are any clients of theirs who were not able to be cured. Surely they would have spoken up?" Ever heard of a non disclosure agreement?

Honestly the trivialising of mh conditions by some on mn infuriates me sometimes

so if they are as bad as some of you claim (well, all of you) how come they seem to help/cure so many people, there's loads of people they seem to genuinely help?

Ssd - said it yourself "seem to" no follow up, no published research, no peer reviewed evidence...

sad - Like you say, 'seem". In the context of a television program and possibly signed NDA?

I don't know I just cannot see what their methodology is and how it can possibly work.

As pp say fears are sometimes irrational and normally learned behavior but that doesn't mean logic can sort them, otherwise nobody would really have them?

and 'seem to help loads of people' even their website just has pictures of empty chairs when it shows their events?

I am not saying they are not nice people and they are not coming at this with the best of intentions BTW

I saw a clip where they helped the sister of a young guy who had been stabbed, she was an actress who'd been in Eastenders....anyway, it was clear she'd really suffered after this awful event and had PTSD, the Speakmans really helped her...why would she lie about this?

I dont know about any follow up, but they do get amazing results

She is an actress (presumably looking for publicity, and possibly with the same PR company/manager) and you are asking why would she lie about this?

I can think of one or two reasons. Or maybe the speakmans finally made her see sense regarding her stupid and irrational fears.

totally harsh and below the belt there donners312, her brother was stabbed to death and she was obviously suffering terribly since it happened

am shocked at your post

I see a couple of locals on this thread
I do know one person who saw them for a phobia and she’s convinced they worked for her when nothing else did - I got no other details, she only told me during an argument when I said I thought he was a dick (dealt with him a few times and he really was!) He parked his hummer like a dick as well..
I have very fond memories - and a few fuzzy ones - of nights out in their house when it was a pub, such a lovely place.

actually I thought your thread was worth being on, but after that comment I'm out.

sorry ssd I didn't mean to upset you.

I also hope you realize I was being sarcastic about her stupid and irrational fears! What I am questioning is the speak mans ability to eradicate them. But maybe they did.

Honestly the trivialising of mh conditions by some on mn infuriates me sometimes

I wasn't trivialising anything! Graphista I have suffered mental issues myself and wouldn't trivialise it.
Everything I said was true and has been said by qualified people. I didn't make it up myself!
You have decided that what the Speakmans do is dangerous and doesn't work, without any evidence to back that up!
You have not had treatments that have worked for you so why slag off something that's worked for others?

I know it sounds bonkers but it really works! I know that from experience. It’s weird. There’s no eureka moment, you just feel calm and are no longer phobic about whatever you were frightened of before. Then you get on with your life.

"They aren't treating serious mental health conditions. They are treating phobias.
They have helped some people with PTSD too." So phobias and PTSD aren't serious conditions? THAT is trivialising

I'm also an ex nurse and have done a significant amount of research (trying to find something to help me with my stuff) so I'm not giving an opinion purely from a lay perspective.

ANYONE purporting to give MEDICAL treatment to people with serious health issues without ANY regulated professional training is acting irresponsibly and dangerously.

I've seen no supported evidence that what they do works even in the medium let alone long term.

Spot on graphista.

It's really quite shocking how many people are comfortable with somebody non accredited delivering treatment without a known evidence base, just because 'it seems to work', based on a tv programme segment. Where's the data? Where's the evidence? Where's the long term follow up to assess sustained improvement and side effects? Where's the transparency to the clients? I bloody wouldn't go to see someone who wasn't actually a trained accredited therapist who kept their methods secret!

Why do people think the NHS abides by NICE guidelines? So they can provide what is proven to be the most effective current treatment with evidence that it will work in a percentage if patients.

With your own private money, sure you can pay anyone if you like. You could pay a random person on the street a tenner to shout at you for half an hour and tell you to 'just get over it' if you want and nobody can stop you. But to state that people providing that aren't doing anything wrong when they're working with potentially vulnerable clients who need actual specialist, proven to be safe help, is hugely irresponsible imo.

To echo @cheesydoesit - this times by many many clinical psychologist and other MH professional friends.
They are not open about their methods so there is no way of knowing what exactly they are doing but what you can ascertain is quite concerning in terms of the claims they make. I don't doubt they genuinely believe their methods, but that does mean they work long term and not being able to critique something you offer and recognise its limitations is a sign of a bad therapist/scientist/researcher. They don't have any formal qualifications in any kind of therapy. There's no follow up to prove long term effectiveness rates for their clients compared to what other therapists offer. I could go on all day tbh. They may well be nice people for all I know but they are kooks as far as the mental health professions are concerned.

• doesn't mean!

Totally agree banana. It's actually fairly insulting to professionals who actually study their profession for years and undergo training and development and supervision and specialising to find people like the speakmans being referred to as therapists. Quite the same as your local lady offering essential oils for common illnesses being seen as a doctor!

If their methods worked and were robust and known (reproducible) then the MH profession would be delighted to have another way to help people. But they're none of those things to anyone's knowledge. Of course if they were open about their methods then a) they'd be scrutinised and proven to be a sham and b) they wouldn't be able to make a fortune keeping it all to themselves.

I'm sure they help some people in the way that if I were to pat everyone with a cold on the head, some would find their cold shortly improved. Correlation does not equal causation however.

It's despairing that in order for the public to have an interest in seeing mental health issues explored and treated it has to be distilled into a short fun segment on daytime tv delivered by a pair of fraudsters/crooks. I wonder if the people who are full of admiration for the speakmans admire their local mental health nhs workers who are treating umpteen cases every week with inadequate resources, a high caseload, and a fraction of the pay!

Thank you Limon and Graphista and wellbanana you’re all spot on. And thanks for sticking up for us NHS psychotherapists who have to prove our academic standing and continue to prove our skills and knowledge in clinical supervision using evidence based approaches (and so we should).