How Verbal Physiotherapy Works, Using Social Delight to Defeat Social Harm, for All

By Bob Johnson

This book is based on 60 years medical experience, including a special interest in philosophical issues such as Determinism, Intent, Free Will, sanity, and the barest bones of medical practice and healthcare. It is written in response to the rigid orthodoxy currently prevailing among medical editors, and in the dire medical consequences of the medical mistakes the "psychiatrists' bible" makes, which my recent blog describes, with evidence, as "MEDICALLY speaking, the DSM is unfinished business. That’s the polite version - there’s worse. “The DSM authorises slip-shod or sub-standard medical practice” - a more realistic verdict, which medical editors cannot stomach. "

A recent newspaper article shows the tip of the iceberg of the problem. Thus Monday 23 July 2018 The Guardian --

Sexual assaults Link to mental illness

"Four out of five teenage girls who have been sexually assaulted are suffering from crippling mental health problems months after their attack, research has found.
. . . . Experts said the findings had confirmed that becoming a victim of abuse in childhood could lead to mental health issues, which could last a lifetime."

Denis Campbell

SEXUAL HARM, social harm – both are now rampant – whatever happened to social delight? Where did that get so lost? High time we did something about it, urgently – but what?

THIS BOOK is based on the one and only provable, repeatable, uniquely validated, objective and scientific fact in the whole of psychiatry, past, present, or future. Blind faith or pre-beliefs, not required. There won’t be another – machines can’t scan minds – humans find it hard enough. I guarantee this applies to every single one of these traumatised girls, without exception.
BRAINSCANS prove that trauma blocks your frontal lobes, giving you a mini-stroke – turning off your thinking.
Verbal Physiotherapy turns it back on – well, that’s my story – see if you agree?

Dr Bob Johnson, author, trained as a psychiatrist, both in the UK and the USA, but having objected to the use of ECT, Electro-shock Treatment, which he regarded as barbaric, equivalent to the ducking stool, and no better, he was blocked from further psychiatric promotion. He moved into family medicine, where, after 19 years and much toil, he identified frontal blockages clinically – a pathology since confirmed by brainscan. He pursued his research into the traumatic origins of violence by working for 5 years as a Consultant Psychiatrist in Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight, UK. His work there eliminated alarm bells for three years - down from 20 a year to zero - a record for any maximum security wing.

Always interested in what we know, what we can know, and what we can’t – he recently delved into the interminable enigmas of Quantum Physics, asking how Uncertainty, which reigns there, would help or hinder clinical healthcare. His conclusion, that it’d be a healthcare disaster, clarifies what's left for us, namely our purposes, our meanings, our ‘intents’ – by harnessing these directly, wonders happen. The book describes how healthcare thinking differs from all others, in that it carries an inbuilt proportional penalty - the less real, true and accurate, the greater the risk of disease and of shortened longevity.

The essential message is the VIOLENCE is infantile - growing up eliminates it -there's an awful lot of growing up that needs to be done - but this book shows how.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bob Johnson
• Release date: Sep 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9780955198564

Book preview

S

exual assaults Link to mental illness

Four out of five teenage girls who have been sexually assaulted are suffering from crippling mental health problems months after their attack, research has found.

. . . .

Experts said the findings had confirmed that becoming a victim of abuse in childhood could lead to mental health issues, which could last a lifetime.

Denis Campbell Monday 23 July 2018 The Guardian

SEXUAL HARM, social harm – both are now rampant – whatever happened to social delight? Where did that get so lost? High time we did something about it, urgently – but what?

THIS BOOK is based on the one and only provable, repeatable, uniquely validated, objective and scientific fact in the whole of psychiatry, past, present, or future. Blind faith or pre-beliefs, not required. There won’t be another – machines can’t scan minds – humans find it hard enough. I guarantee this applies to every single one of these traumatised girls, without exception.

BRAINSCANS prove that trauma blocks your frontal lobes, giving you a mini-stroke – turning off your thinking.

Verbal Physiotherapy turns it back on – well, that’s my story – see if you agree?

to contents

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about Bob Johnson

Bob Johnson trained as a psychiatrist, both in the UK and the USA, but having objected to the use of ECT, Electro-shock Treatment, which he regarded as barbaric, equivalent to the ducking stool, and no better, he was blocked from further psychiatric promotion. He moved into family medicine, where, after 19 years and much toil, he identified frontal blockages clinically – a pathology since confirmed by brainscan.

Always interested in what we know, what we can know, and what we can’t – he recently delved into the interminable enigmas of Quantum Physics, asking how Uncertainty, which reigns there, would help or hinder clinical healthcare. His conclusion, that it’d be a healthcare disaster, clarifies what's left for us, namely our purposes, our meanings, our ‘intents’ – by harnessing these directly, wonders happen.

Bob Johnson is no longer licensed by the UK medical licensing authority, the GMC, to practice medicine in the UK. Accordingly his clinical practice is now closed.

to contents

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the book summarised in 700 words

Here then are six themes, from six chapters – (1) fork-hits-nose, (2) I will let it, (3) needless pain, (4) a form I could tackle, (5) you can’t hit me anymore, (6) disbelieving delusions.

Let’s put them into a fable, a story line – see if you can see how they work from your experience. Once upon a time there was a lovely little girl called Mary. She skipped along, made daisy-chains, was cheerful and friendly to all who knew her. She was a normal happy child. One day, disaster struck. I give no details of the disaster itself – they vary according to who is telling the tale, and they make not a ha’pennyworth of difference – the severity matters, the detail doesn’t. Once speechless-terror hit, only the mini-stroke remained. Disasters which cripple one, don’t cripple another – especially not, if emotional support is immediate and trustworthy. Otherwise they do, until relieved, using the same cure.

In Mary’s case, the episode shattered her entire worldview, terrified her into speechless-terror, so much so that every time she began to think things were getting better, she couldn’t – her fork-kept-hitting-her-nose (1), not her mouth – which was the last thing she intended. After a while, she felt so fed up with this performance, which was not to her liking at all, she withdrew. In effect she decided not to bother any more, but to go with the flow, and let it ride (2) – she had succumbed to social defeat. Not that she could express it that way – she simply couldn’t speak about it, she didn’t have any words for it. Her speech-centre had also gone kaput, at the same time, and for the same reason.

Unhappily for those around her, she didn’t notice, or didn’t care that this inflicted needless pain (3) on many others in her immediate intimate circle (including, though unacknowledged, herself) – she didn’t have any space to consider this angle, she was too busy coping with the implacable injuries of fork-hits-nose. Her immediate friends couldn’t understand it at all, any more than she could – here she was, enormously bright, vivacious, brilliant academically, energetic and wonderful – yet callous and indifferent where, and only where, it mattered to them most. They gave it all sorts of diagnoses – autism, selfishness, bonkers – but none of these descriptors helped either them, or Mary.

However, one sunny day, things took a decided turn for the better, she came across an advocate of something that called itself Verbal Physiotherapy – she didn’t mind that much what it was called, all the other remedies she’d tried had had similarly odd names. What made this different was that it chimed directly in with her innermost thinking. It started where she could understand. She’d tried all sorts of things up to that point, but none had really made a lot of sense to her. Suddenly, to her astonishment and delight, she was given a form by which she could tackle the fork-hits-nose problem, spot on (4).

The brainscan they gave her helped – she could immediately see that until her trauma tape was played, everything was sweetness and light – but once her trauma re-surfaced, her very own brain functioning changed instantly – both frontals and speech centre went off-line – a graphic demonstration, from which she could see for herself, as to why she couldn’t think straight. The people doing it, seemed especially caring, comforting, understanding – but not in the least parental, thank goodness. And, so she reasoned, trustworthy, something she had never really believed in before.

This transformed matters into a win-win situation, because it finally convinced her that she was now much bigger than when that nasty person did that to her, and she began to believe she could stop it happening again, simply by asserting her very own adulthood (5). What had actually vanished was a fundamental belief, an unreal belief, in effect a delusion (6) – something which had governed how she had run her life and her health up to that point, but which no longer had any basis in reality. What had happened to her, and allowed her to live happily-ever-after, was that she had accessed a dose of reality which made sense, was trustworthy, was enthusiastically proffered and to which she therefore had zero trouble consenting to. Tee hee. Rock on.

to contents

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News flash

about Bob Johnson

the book summarised in 700 words

chapter subheadings – synopses

HEALTH WARNING and disclaimer

1: the basics

how ordinary physiotherapy works

how verbal physiotherapy works

the Number One Problem

conclusions from chapter 1: the basics

2: how a serial killer thought better of it

curing murder

why punishment doesn’t work

it was a hairbrush . . sharpened so it was like a dagger

as far as I'm concerned violence is something I don't want to use.

when the doctor turns to start the video, said Alec, I’ll murder him.

conclusions from chapter 2: how a serial killer thought better of it

3: what can Jane Austen teach us about healthcare?

the story so far

does Mrs Norris’s fake news, matter?

why does Mrs Norris insist on being the greatest?

why does Mrs Norris inflict needless pain on those in her power?

conclusions from chapter 3: what can Jane Austen teach us about healthcare?

4: Dr Bob was able to give my fear and trauma a FORM which I COULD TACKLE.

healthcare-ethics

what's the best FORM for you to TACKLE this?

giving fear and trauma a form Steve could tackle

conclusions from chapter 4: Dr Bob was able to give my fear and trauma a FORM which I COULD TACKLE.

5: Hello mother, you can’t hit me anymore, I’m an adult

the violence disease

being an adult means you can’t hit me anymore

the nuts and bolts of Verbal Physiotherapy

what we can all do about it, & need to

conclusions from chapter 5: Hello mother, you can’t hit me anymore, I’m an adult

6: carnivorous tables – and other dangerous delusions

believing delusions

look at those tables – can you see their hideous teeth?

I keep a place in my mind where my dad is still alive . .

don’t let her hurt me

conclusions from chapter 6: carnivorous tables – and other dangerous delusions

7: Ho, Polonius, to define true madness – ’tis nothing else but frontals-block’d

the entire book in sum

(1) fork-hits-nose

(2) I will let it

(3) needless pain

(4) a form I could tackle

(5) you can’t hit me anymore

(6) disbelieving delusions

human beings, starting at 17 minutes old

is peace-of-mind (i.e. social delight) available for all, if not, why not?

postscript

links to videos

further reading

links to writings on consciousness, ‘intent’, and relateds.

an orthodox reaction to these ideas

an academic analysis of why current psychiatric practice is substandard medicine.

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HEALTH WARNING and disclaimer

(1) Never force anyone to answer painful questions, without their full-hearted consent; (2) never stop psychiatric drugs abruptly; (3) never neglect to consult your doctor or trusted friend, if you find any of these issues disturbing – this is a book, not a living clinician.

Consent is vital. You wouldn't dream of doing brain surgery without fully informed consent, nor deeply experienced training – mind surgery can be just as damaging. I narrowly avoided being murdered, because I asked the wrong question at the wrong time.

BE WARNED, however well intentioned, or desperate, you could make things very much worse, just through stirring things too soon. Making sure you first get consent could protect you, but just be sure you never risk it.

Psychiatric drugs are intended to alter your brain chemicals – if you want to stop them, wean yourself off, very, very carefully. Their side-effects can be worse than the disease – and going cold turkey, worse still.

Reading a book can stir painful memories – if this happens to you, make sure you have a reliable shoulder to cry on. If in doubt, consult your doctor – this is not a help-me book, it’s a wake up call about deeply disturbing matters.

THIS IS NOT A CLINICAL HANDBOOK – the cases referred to here have been fictionalised, some even borrowed from Jane Austen herself. It’s the pathology that is real enough. The book’s task is to raise awareness, to engineer better healthcare in general. Details which could identify have been changed – they are less important, than the concepts they convey.

DISCLAIMER – PLEASE NOTE – The information in this book is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please review all information regarding any medical condition or treatment with your doctor.

to contents

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1: the basics

how ordinary physiotherapy works –

how verbal physiotherapy works –

the Number One Problem –

conclusions from chapter 1: the basics

how ordinary physiotherapy works

Brainscan evidence shows why our thoughts, feelings and actions so often go wrong – we keep doing what we don’t want to do, asking for things which don’t help us, and so we end up worse than we were. Why? It really is as if we blunder through our emotional life, simply not thinking things through. What's the explanation? We can organise our breakfasts, a roof over our heads – but emotional comfort, peace-of-mind – where does that get so lost? People who should be closest to us, seem to drift (or be driven) furthest away. What to do?

Simple explanations are often the worst – more money, higher status, better job prospects – these seem to offer security, reliable ways through, but celebrity marriages never last – if we are so good at so many things, why not at those that matter most, our living happily ever after? Where does that go? You will hear many opinions – the one in this book is based on brainscan evidence that trauma/torture/terror turns off the frontal lobes. And once those go on the blink, thinking becomes problematic – we run on auto-pilot, say things we don’t mean, and generally make things worse. It’s as if we’ve suffered a stroke – our speech centre doesn’t work properly either. And the remedy? Well, just as physiotherapy works wonders for physical brain damage, Verbal Physiotherapy does the same for thinking. At least that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

Now this book doesn’t offer any Absolute Rules – rules-of-thumb, yes, which work most of the time, in most circumstances – but guarantees, well they are for the glib, not for those who want to work hard, work patiently, at making things better. So this book offers a blue-print, a sketch of what has worked so well for me, and for most of those I saw in my clinic when I ran one. And since we are talking about how thinking goes wrong, it’s essential to think clearly about any explanation – without clarity at the outset, we’ll be mired straight into a SNAFU, Situation Normal, All Fouled Up, sooner than you can say Sigmund Freud.

Physiotherapy, happily, is something that everyone can instantly understand, and therefore of course, wholeheartedly agree with. You don’t need psychobabble, nor 1001 theories of what it’s all about. You have a stroke, your muscles don’t work – the answer? Get graded exercises to start them off again. You don’t have to know where the nerve damage came from, nor which precise parts of the brain are no longer doing what you want them to – you’re just desperate to get your speech back, your right arm to start lifting things again, your legs to walk you to and fro as before – in other words you want a work-around. So you trudge along to the physiotherapy clinic, talk to the nice physiotherapist there, dread what s/he has to say, fear what s/he is going to get you to do. Admit, if only to yourself, that nothing’ll work – at least that’s your inner fear, and why not?

So what does a successful physiotherapy outcome require? Well, first we know from basic principles what won’t work, what will assuredly scupper it 100%. (1) Really severe brain tissue damage, rare, but it can happen. (2) Lack of trust by you that anything will do any good, whatsoever. (3) Pessimism on the part of a physiotherapist, who doesn’t believe change is possible either. And (4) failure on your part, for whatever reason, to give the whole unhappy affair your fully informed and enthusiastic consent.

Four elementary rules-of-thumb – you’d be surprised how often they are missing in mental healthcare. Really bad nerve injury does occur (1) – but the sooner you can get treatment after a stroke, the better. Early oxygen makes a difference. Besides, where’s this can-do spirit when you need it? What we normally decide is that the more severe the problem, the greater the effort we need to invest. Why should severe strokes be any different? Minor nerve damage is more easily fixed, more drastic injury takes longer, that’s all.

Now the physiotherapist is going to ask you to do things you can’t do at the moment – else why go? So if you don’t trust her or him (2), neither of you are going to get anywhere. See that small word trust? What a universe it contains. You can’t buy trust, you can’t sell it – you have to earn it, and given all the dreadful things that have just happened to you – a trustworthy therapist is a godsend. And how.

So you place yourself at the mercy of this physiotherapist. (3) What does s/he really believe? Are you just another lost cause? A victim of your earlier history, which cannot now be changed, or just another genetic mishap which could happen to anyone? A pessimistic physiotherapist is a contradiction in terms. So therapeutic optimism is at a premium, and psychiatric nihilism a