My areas of interest

My research over the last 40 years has explored new ways to think about how we can improve our health. In that journey I’ve gained a research based PhD in the Psychology of Health, run a Randomised Controlled Trial, published numerous papers and been on university faculties lecturing BSc and MSc students.

The scientific basis of the Lightning Process

Throughout this time I often found my patients asking for guidance on ways to move forward when they found the usual options hadn’t helped them recovery completely.

One issue they often highlighted was their frustration at being treated as being made up of ‘separate parts’. So they would be referred to Renal specialist for kidney issues, a Cardiologist for heart issues and a Psychologist for mental health issues. This reasonable approach is designed to get you in front of an expert in the field, and for crisis medicine is generally an excellent approach, but it can also result in a sense of not being seen as a whole person, and the interactions between those systems can sometimes be forgotten in the process.

Many other researchers have noted this and the field of studying how the immune system is affected by diet, exercise and how you use your brain (psycho-neuro-immunology) and how the body and mind interact (systems thinking) has become a growing field of interest. This interest has only increased with the rise of chronic illness placing huge drains on the healthcare system and leaving those with these issue desperate for a solution.

The research project that started the Lightning Process

The Lightning Process is drawn from the western academic tradition of a scientific understanding of how the mind and body interact and is based on my studies in anatomy, physiology, linguistics and psychology.  In this case, applying new ways of thinking using familiar western models.  It began with failure.  In the 1980s I ran a clinic where those with hard to treat issues and complex issues were referred.  And, although I helped many, there was a percentage that I just couldn’t help.  As they had been referred to me as the last hope, I wasn’t happy to just send them back with no answers.  I felt we must have missed something and some new thinking was required to find new solutions.

So, I began a qualitative enquiry into their experiences to see if together we could identify any themes or patterns in their symptoms, affected body systems, etc. This study eventually resulted in the formulation of the LP and its core theoretical and practical elements.  If you’d like to know more about what is included in the LP then I’d recommend the book Get the Life you Love Now and this peer-reviewed paper: https://jep.ro/images/pdf/cuprins_reviste/82_art_2__v.pdf – both of which detail the concepts and steps of the intervention.

Blind alleys, red herrings and a new intervention

My research to date has taken me on a fascinating journey, introducing me to a broad range of approaches, some of which informed the creation of the LP, and others that turned out not to be relevant.

I’m currently recording a series of interviews with leading researchers such as Prof Irving Kirsch, Prof Andrea Evers and Prof Luana Colloca discussing the research and science of the Mind-Brain-Body Connection, which has been humbling and fascinating.

I’m certain that not every idea I come up with will be life-changing or even any good, but as they say, you have to kiss enough frogs to find a prince!

Phil