Results of the NY Pilot of the RTM Protocol to be published by JMVFH

Recent results of a pilot of the RTM Protocol in New York have been accepted by the Journal of Military, Veteran, and Family Health in Canada for publication in their October issue.  This is a peer reviewed journal published by Queens University in Kingston, Ontario in cooperation with the Canadian Institute for Military and Veterans Health Research. 

The article was written by Frank Bourke, Ph.D. and Richard Gray, Ph.D. from the Research and Recognition Project with the assistance of Drs. Stephen Glatt and Daniel Tylee both from the SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY.  The research was supported by a grant from the State of New York.  The research could not have gone forward without the assistance of Bruce Teall, LCSW-R, Rochester, NY, Clinical Director of the Western New York Initiative, and Peter Kean, MA, Director of The Neuro-Linguistic Programming Institute of Washington, D.C.

Remediation of intrusive symptoms of PTSD in fewer than five sessions: A thirty person pre-pilot study of the RTM Protocol

Abstract: The Reconsolidation of Traumatic Memories (RTM) Protocol is a non-traumatizing intervention for the intrusive symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It is supported by nearly forty years of anecdotal and clinical reports. This study reports the first scientific evaluation of the protocol in a thirty person pilot study using male veterans with pre-existing diagnoses of PTSD. Intake criteria included interviews and confirmatory re-diagnosis using the PTSD Checklist-Military version (PCL-M). Thirty-three persons met inclusion criteria; twenty-six completed treatment. Twenty-five of the program completers (96%) were symptom-free at six-week follow-up. Mean PCL-M scores at intake were 61 points. At the six-week follow-up the mean score was 28.8 with a mean reduction in PCL-M scores of 33 points. Hedges’ g was computed for six-week follow-ups and showed a 2.9 SD difference from intake to follow-up. A waitlist control analysis indicated non-significant symptom changes during the two-week wait period. A proposed mechanism and comparative effectiveness data are reviewed.

Keywords:  PTSD, PCL-M, RTM, Reconsolidation, NLP 

Comment by Carla Woody: "A huge congratulations to Richard Gray, PhD, and Frank Bourke, PhD, for undertaking a clinical study to prove what NLPers have known all along about the power of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) to heal and transform: (...) I'm holding it will be the first of many studies in various contexts that--FINALLY--provides NLP the respect and widest use it deserves. And much gratitude to all the NLP developers and practitioners who have persistently stretched beyond perceived limits. With this news tonight...I feel well validated. "