When I first read this post, it really resonated with experiences I've had in the past of identifying some internalised belief and reprocessing it (through emotional release), resulting in immediate and lasting change. I hadn't ever noticed this pattern because it had only happened a couple of times, far apart, and I never had any idea how or why it happened.
After I read this post, I got the book and created an AI therapist (using Claude) that could replicate the methods they laid out. It's been about two and a half weeks since then, and I've had multiple long sessions with the AI therapist. I've experienced transformational change in a couple of beliefs that I held, the main one being about perfectionism.
My personal experience has been slightly different than the examples laid out in this post. Usually, it involves me paying really close attention to whatever emotions/sensations I'm feeling, and the closer I get to some internalised belief, the more these emotions/sensations present themselves. Usually it resolves by having a big emotional release of some kind, e.g. crying/laughing (or both).
It's hard to describe how much of an impact it's had on my moment-to-moment experience of life - the main change being that I'm more capable of experiencing vulnerability. From that comes so many other benefits e.g. better able to empathise, better able to receive/give compliments (and much more).
Basically, I just wanted to say thank you for writing this post and exposing me to this book because it's no exaggeration to say that it's changed my life. I hope more people get to experience the relief that this framework can provide.
That’s fascinating. "Did you simply upload the book to a Claude project and let Claude read and understand it, or did you train it in any more elaborate way?
I uploaded the second chapter which outlined the method and then generated a prompt so I didn't have to reupload the chapter every time. This is the prompt: "I'd like you to take on the role of an experienced psychotherapist who specializes in transformational change through a specific three-step process of memory reconsolidation: The therapist should guide the conversation through these key phases: PREPARATION (Accessing Sequence): 1. Help identify specific symptoms/behaviors the person wants to change 2. Guide discovery of the underlying emotional learning/belief driving these behaviors 3. Work to find experiences that directly contradict this core belief TRANSFORMATION (Unlearning Sequence): 4. Assist in reactivating the problematic emotional learning/belief 5. Create an experience where this belief and contradictory knowledge are held simultaneously (juxtaposition experience) 6. Guide through several repetitions of this juxtaposition VERIFICATION: 7. Look for markers of transformation: * The problematic response no longer triggers * The change feels natural and effortless * The improvement persists under stress Key principles to follow: * Maintain warm, empathetic presence * Pay attention to both emotional and physical responses * Look for specific memories that created these patterns * Notice when emotional release or shifts occur * Ensure contradictory experiences feel personally true * Provide clear summaries and practical next steps Begin by asking what specific behavior, emotional response, or pattern they'd like to work on, and maintain a professional therapeutic tone throughout. Note: If the person shows signs of acute crisis or severe trauma, acknowledge the need for additional support structures before doing this deep emotional work."
While I quite like memory reconsolidation, and Coherence Therapy is probably the roughly closest academic therapy to what I do with my clients, I think it's also important to note that these issues are often incentivized by many (and potentially hundreds of) overlapping unconscious predictions.
There can be many many predictions resulting in a particular anxiety. All of which need to be found, and then integrated. I've helped people outgrow multiple interlocking feedback loops that were incentivizing their self-loathing and depression, for example.
The mind is a distributed system, and most of what happens happens in parallel.
good callout, schemas can overlap and intermingle tons. the authors talk a lot about how when a schema *seems* to be updated in a session but later the client shows signs of reversal, it's usually because *some other* schema was holding the first schema in place, so the focus moves towards targeting that schema instead.
I've never had much faith in therapy. While the source of problems and even a specific root cause can often be identified, I feel transformation is lacking.
As someone who suffers from similar anxiety issues to the guy in the first example, I've been looking for methods of self-healing for some time now and so I'm going to check out the book.
When I first read this post, it really resonated with experiences I've had in the past of identifying some internalised belief and reprocessing it (through emotional release), resulting in immediate and lasting change. I hadn't ever noticed this pattern because it had only happened a couple of times, far apart, and I never had any idea how or why it happened.
After I read this post, I got the book and created an AI therapist (using Claude) that could replicate the methods they laid out. It's been about two and a half weeks since then, and I've had multiple long sessions with the AI therapist. I've experienced transformational change in a couple of beliefs that I held, the main one being about perfectionism.
My personal experience has been slightly different than the examples laid out in this post. Usually, it involves me paying really close attention to whatever emotions/sensations I'm feeling, and the closer I get to some internalised belief, the more these emotions/sensations present themselves. Usually it resolves by having a big emotional release of some kind, e.g. crying/laughing (or both).
It's hard to describe how much of an impact it's had on my moment-to-moment experience of life - the main change being that I'm more capable of experiencing vulnerability. From that comes so many other benefits e.g. better able to empathise, better able to receive/give compliments (and much more).
Basically, I just wanted to say thank you for writing this post and exposing me to this book because it's no exaggeration to say that it's changed my life. I hope more people get to experience the relief that this framework can provide.
wow! I'm so glad to hear that, thank you for reading and for the comment!
That’s fascinating. "Did you simply upload the book to a Claude project and let Claude read and understand it, or did you train it in any more elaborate way?
I uploaded the second chapter which outlined the method and then generated a prompt so I didn't have to reupload the chapter every time. This is the prompt: "I'd like you to take on the role of an experienced psychotherapist who specializes in transformational change through a specific three-step process of memory reconsolidation: The therapist should guide the conversation through these key phases: PREPARATION (Accessing Sequence): 1. Help identify specific symptoms/behaviors the person wants to change 2. Guide discovery of the underlying emotional learning/belief driving these behaviors 3. Work to find experiences that directly contradict this core belief TRANSFORMATION (Unlearning Sequence): 4. Assist in reactivating the problematic emotional learning/belief 5. Create an experience where this belief and contradictory knowledge are held simultaneously (juxtaposition experience) 6. Guide through several repetitions of this juxtaposition VERIFICATION: 7. Look for markers of transformation: * The problematic response no longer triggers * The change feels natural and effortless * The improvement persists under stress Key principles to follow: * Maintain warm, empathetic presence * Pay attention to both emotional and physical responses * Look for specific memories that created these patterns * Notice when emotional release or shifts occur * Ensure contradictory experiences feel personally true * Provide clear summaries and practical next steps Begin by asking what specific behavior, emotional response, or pattern they'd like to work on, and maintain a professional therapeutic tone throughout. Note: If the person shows signs of acute crisis or severe trauma, acknowledge the need for additional support structures before doing this deep emotional work."
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/WoFzaziRp8LPqomyC/coherence-therapy-with-llms-quick-demo
While I quite like memory reconsolidation, and Coherence Therapy is probably the roughly closest academic therapy to what I do with my clients, I think it's also important to note that these issues are often incentivized by many (and potentially hundreds of) overlapping unconscious predictions.
There can be many many predictions resulting in a particular anxiety. All of which need to be found, and then integrated. I've helped people outgrow multiple interlocking feedback loops that were incentivizing their self-loathing and depression, for example.
The mind is a distributed system, and most of what happens happens in parallel.
https://chrislakin.blog/p/unconscious-predictions
good callout, schemas can overlap and intermingle tons. the authors talk a lot about how when a schema *seems* to be updated in a session but later the client shows signs of reversal, it's usually because *some other* schema was holding the first schema in place, so the focus moves towards targeting that schema instead.
this is a great essay, i’ll definitely be reading the book, thanks for sharing
Thanks for writing this.
I've never had much faith in therapy. While the source of problems and even a specific root cause can often be identified, I feel transformation is lacking.
As someone who suffers from similar anxiety issues to the guy in the first example, I've been looking for methods of self-healing for some time now and so I'm going to check out the book.