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Old 03-23-2011, 08:20 PM
  # 19 (permalink)  
JohnBarleycorn
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Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 270
Originally Posted by recycle View Post
Somehow that does not surprise me, in the other articles on Walker's site, Trimpey seemed to have a bit of an ax to grind. (...in a Nutshell - LOL)

As far as the AVRT goes, it is not a new idea. CBT therapists call it defusion, and of course eastern wisdom traditions have been calling it 'dwelling as the witness' for a millennium or three. It is useful for lots of (legitimate) problems like panic attacks, anger, stress, etc.

Thanks for the heads up JB.
Trimpey always had an axe to grind, increasing more over the years, particularly with AA.

In The Small Book, it was "I have a lot of respect for AA, but for some people it is the wrong program."

Trimpey received CBT training from Albert Ellis. The Small Book was based on CBT, and RR became what SMART recovery is now. SMART used to be the RR network, until Trimpey disbanded it.

In TSB, he took CBT and simplified it a lot to apply to addiction. Albert Ellis even wrote the foreword to TSB and endorsed it. SMART recovery still uses it.

AVRT is slightly different than traditional CBT, though it is influenced by it somewhat. The beauty and genius of what Trimpey did with AVRT is that it zeroed in on the exact thinking that feeds addiction, even within meetings.

For example, if someone hears in the rooms "meeting makers make it," they might easily conclude "those who don't make meetings DON'T make it."

Then, when the day came that they didn't make a meeting for some reason, they might conclude "oh, I didn't make a meeting, and since only meeting makers make it, and everyone else does not, TIME TO DRINK !!!"

But this time, he cranks up axe-grinding *big time*, and has extended AVRT to things it is not suited for, IMO, including illegal immigration, socialism, sexual orientation, gender identity, communism, national socialism, collectivism, and even the Obama white house.

Too much, IMO.
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