‘BWRT®’ stands for ‘BrainWorking Recursive Therapy®’, a modern model of psychology and psychotherapy created by UK professional therapist, Terence Watts, MCGI. It uses a totally logical, practical and down-to-earth working method in which it’s not necessary for you to talk about anything you would rather not discuss – the practitioner only needs to know how you feel and how you would prefer to feel instead. BWRT® is unlike any other therapy you might have heard of or read about, using the latest discoveries in neuroscience coupled with your own unique brain processes to help you get better. Only Certified Practitioners have been trained to deliver BWRT® and all have to adhere to a strict ethical code. Find out more at http://www.bwrt.org.

How It Works? 

BrainWorking Recursive Therapy (BWRT^®) – a revolutionary neuroscience method that is an advanced form of neuropsychotherapy that delivers speedy and effective solutions for psychological and emotional distress by applying the “freeze response” during sessions. It’s a method of therapy that “freezes” troublesome thoughts and then uses a technique called “recursive loops” to condition the way the brain responds to unwanted triggers.

By creating a new desired Neuro response pattern to any sensory stimulus, imaginary or real, we action the brain into neuroplasticity creation of our desire…the therapy is conducted in the privacy of the client’s mind, thus eliminating any possible conscious and subconscious resistance that may have arisen as the result of the conversational exposure of intimate or sensitive details of the existing problem… The image below represents an illustration of how BWRT^® works compared with older/traditional therapies

One of the wonderful positive aspects of the therapy is the fact that we do not need to explore the originating cause of the problem and will work with the worst conscious actual memory of the problem that client can find during the session.

The title of the therapy comes from the above-mentioned “recursive loop” process that is used to establish and strengthen the welcomed new behavioural and sensory response. Since creation of this new therapy in 2011 and thousands of therapy sessions, the testing experience shows the obtained desired changes appear to be permanent with no evidence of the symptom substitution.

Here are three videos from the originator of the therapy – if you are interested to find out more about how it works. (the links open a new tab, on YouTube website).

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BWRT® has a featured chapter in the academic book The Bright Side of Shame (published by Springer) and was the subject of a 2018 Ph.D. awarded from Lincoln University in the UK. (Brain Work Recursive Therapy for Non-Complex Trauma: A Case Series Design – authored by Hayley Rose)

It is currrently (after a Covid-related pause) the subject of a clinical trial funded and conducted by the University of Bergen, Norway and recently completed, with a paper due in 2026.

It’s fast, effective, and long-lasting – usually permanent – and doesn’t require the client to tap, pinch, breathe in a special way, operate an anchor, trigger or any other form of post-therapy device. It just works.

Based on Neuroscience Research

The original inspiration for what was to become BWRT® came via an article in the New Scientist magazine in November 2011, about the experiments of Benjamin Libet in the early 1980s. The experiments appeared to prove that we don´t have free will in the way we usually think of it – though we do definitely have free won’t. That is, you can stop an action after it has started but you have no conscious control over the impulse arising in the first place.

There have been many attempts to refute Libet’s experiments since they were conducted, though none of them were entirely successful. And as more advanced imaging techniques became available, it became obvious that there was, indeed, a ‘cognitive gap’ where the brain creates a response to a stimulus before conscious awareness of that stimulus.

Altough BWRT® was inspired by those experiments and others similar, it is not based on their techniques. The following links give you a clear view of the amount of research which has now been carried out: 

The truly exciting thing about BWRT® is that it works directly in that ‘cognitive gap’ before conscious awareness. So where more standard therapies will be seeking to access the anxiety-triggering amygdala via conscious processes, BWRT® works from the other end of the scale – in the very early brain before the amygdala has even received the message!  

We work with the Reptilian Complex, AKA Lizard Brain, which for 600 million years or so has been and still is the first responder in all sentient animals. It’s far speedier than even the fastest thought in response to any stimulus but especially to threats against survival, be they real or simply perceived.

Who Uses It?

BWRT® is now in use all over the world, by psychologists, hypnotherapists, medical practitioners, pyschiatrists, counsellors and more. It is in regular use by the psychologists in a South African Police Force, thanks to its abilty to resolve even quite severe PTSD in a session or two getting officers quickly back on the road.

How it Works

The ‘engine’ of BWRT® is a naturally occuring brain state, the ‘Freeze’ response, a ‘synthetic’ version of which is induced therapeutically and without trauma. Then we use the primary communication processes of the early brain to reorganise and neutralise the response(s) associated with the presenting symptom.  

Disclaimer

The information provided on this page is for general educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any physical or mental health condition. BWRT® (BrainWorking Recursive Therapy®) is a therapeutic approach delivered exclusively by trained and registered practitioners. While many individuals report positive outcomes, results can vary, and no specific outcome can be guaranteed.

This content should not be considered a substitute for professional medical, psychological, or psychiatric advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have concerns about your mental or physical health, please consult a qualified healthcare professional. Never disregard or delay seeking professional guidance because of information found on this website.

Succeeding Minds and its contributors make no warranties regarding the accuracy, completeness, or applicability of the information provided and assume no liability for any actions taken based on this content.

‘BWRT®’ stands for ‘BrainWorking Recursive Therapy®’, a modern model of psychology and psychotherapy created by UK professional therapist, Terence Watts, MCGI. It uses a totally logical, practical and down-to-earth working method in which it’s not necessary for you to talk about anything you would rather not discuss – the practitioner only needs to know how you feel and how you would prefer to feel instead. BWRT® is unlike any other therapy you might have heard of or read about, using the latest discoveries in neuroscience coupled with your own unique brain processes to help you get better. Only Certified Practitioners have been trained to deliver BWRT® and all have to adhere to a strict ethical code. Find out more at http://www.bwrt.org

Image Credits

• Video in a computer – Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/turned-on-macbook-3205403/
• Books – Photo by Ricky Esquivel: https://www.pexels.com/photo/turned-on-floor-lamp-near-sofa-on-a-library-room-1907784/