Top 3 Questions

Question 1
When seeking help from a counselor, psychotherapist, psychiatrist, or coach, the number one question is, "What do you measure, why do you measure it, how are the outcomes generated, and can I see data from previous clients?" If the mental health professional states that revealing data from previous clients would violate client confidentiality, let them know that you did not request personal information. You would simply like to look at the before and after data from clients with similar issues.

Question 2
The second question is, "How do you define normal?" With 947 pages in DSM 5, there is no clear definition of normal. If there is no definition for normal, how do you know when you are better? Getting back to normal is a crucial objective for anyone seeking the help of a mental health professional, so one must start with a clear definition of what this means. If you do not clearly define normal, how will you know when you have reached your objective?

Question 3
The third question is, "Do you measure and track gut health, and do you understand how to correct a disrupted microbiota?" Stress is the number one cause of disrupted microbiota. In addition, over half a billion brain cells line the gut and communicate with the brain between your ears via the vagus nerve. If this is not measured and tracked, this can become a self-perpetuating mechanism that can and will keep you psychologically unwell.

Burris Institute Response to These Questions

Question 1
"What do you measure, why do you measure it, how are the outcomes generated, and can I see data from previous clients?" All SR™ Practitioners are required to use our cloud-based 22-point three instrument Emotional Fitness Checklist and 22-point three instrument Gut Health Checklist at every session. Our psychometrics are listed below and represent the full spectrum of emotions that may be driving aberrant behavior. The client determines the severity of their disorder and when and if they have improved. All SR™ Practitioners can show the data from three clients they have worked with on their Burris Connect profile page. Our SR™ Masters have the data of 20 clients publically available.

Targeted Issues Measured and Improved

  1. Depression  
  2. Anxiety  
  3. Negative Self-Talk (Guilt)
  4. Anger  
  5. Sleep  
  6. Hopelessness  
  7. Self-Esteem  
  8. Eating Behavior  
  9. Decision Making  
  10. Hatred (Self-Others)  
  11. Suicidal Ideation  
  12. Love (The Emotional State)  
  13. Self-Confidence  
  14. Motivation and Focus
  15. Communication
  16. Relationship Satisfaction  
  17. Stress

*We consider Gut Health to be the 18th psychometric.

4 SR™ Practitioners 70 Clients 3 Demographics and 17 Psychometrics

Question 2
"How do you define normal?" The client grades themselves on a 1 to 10 scale, with 1 being not a all and 10 being a lot.

Normal Range for Emotional Fitness Checklist

  • Emotional Checklist: 1 – 4
  • Behavior Control Checklist: 7 -10
  • Relationship Satisfaction Scale: 7 -10

Normal Range for Gut Health Checklist

  • Gallstones and Liver Stones Checklist: 1-4
  • Parasite Symptom Checklist: 1-4
  • SIBO Candida IBS/DBS Checklist: 1-4

The client determines what is normal for them within the normal ranges listed above.

Question 3
"Do you measure and track gut health, and do you understand how to correct a disrupted microbiota?" The quick answer is yes and yes. Burris Institute has spent over a decade researching and developing the mechanisms of DBS/IBS and the resulting diseases and disorders. In Step 6 of our SR™ Process, we lay out what happens when the microbiota gets disrupted and how to correct it with the help of a Functional Medicine Practitioner. The bottom line is that anyone in the field of emotional fitness (mental health) absolutely must measure and track gut health.

Our cloud-based software is set up, so the client and coach can see a color-coded representation of before and after outcomes of both the Emotional Fitness Checklist and Gut Health Checklist. Green represents an improvement, clear represents no improvement, and pink represents a regression. These two measurement tools are accessible to anyone who makes an account at BurrisConnect.com.

The Human Microbiome Project was initiated in 2008 with one hundred fifteen million dollars from NIH. This research along with personal experience, added gut health as a significant part of the Subconscious Restructuring™ equation. Every day, more autoimmune diseases such as lupus, multiple sclerosis, and even Parkinson's and dementia are linked to gut health. Even though Burris Institute recognizes this broad spectrum of implications, the primary objective of Burris Institute is how gut health affects thought, emotion, and behavior, and it is dramatic.

Following are profiles of the SR™ Practitioners who participated in this data collection. All SR™ Practitioners are required to follow our data protocol if the client finds them through BurrisConnect.com.

Beau Chatham, CPT, MSRT: Military Population
As a former college athlete, 3-time TBI survivor, Airborne Ranger, and medical industry educator, Beau Chatham brings a unique perspective to the treatment of today's combat veterans.

In 2004, Beau took an inventory of his "personal rucksack" after reading Dr. Charles Hoge's groundbreaking study published in the New England Journal of Medicine highlighting the staggering rates of PTSD and TBI in our combat forces engaged in the war on terror. He realized that the solutions being offered were ineffective. This was evidenced by the skyrocketing suicide rate of our service members. Having spent the prior 12 years articulating disease states to patients and physicians and being "fluent in speaking Infantry," he began sketching an outline of what he had learned in his transition out of the military.

He learned early as a civilian that evidence-based methodologies offered the best means of providing a reasonable and predictable result in therapeutic approaches. As a former military leader and trainer, he also understood that warriors excel with processes and procedures that they can learn quickly through demonstration and rehearsal. These were the guiding principles that led him to find Kelly Burris, PhD.

In 2009, Beau established Warrior Life Coach®, an executive coaching practice, to offer transitioning combat veterans an alternative solution to the challenges they faced in a post-combat world. Since the beginning, Beau's clients have generated life-changing results using the coaching tools offered through Coach Training at The Burris Institute. To date, he boasts a 46% reduction in suicidal ideation, along with improvements in relationship satisfaction and improved overall emotional states in combat veterans diagnosed with PTSD/TBI.

  • Beau's coaching practice currently serves individual military veterans and first responder clients in the Atlanta area.
  • He serves as the Peer Liaison at the SHARE Military Initiative at the Shepherd Center.
  • He is a current contributor to Vetlanta's (an Atlanta-based social club that fosters collaboration to support veteran-oriented initiatives) healthcare pillar.
  • He has provided his services to Cobb County Veterans Court, Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation, and the Family Warrior Weekend ( a Camp Twin Lakes retreat for military/veteran families affected by post-9-11 combat operations).

Liz Kahn, MA, MSRT: Civilian Population
Though classically trained in counseling and forensic psychology, Liz Kahn calls herself the anti-therapist because she strictly follows the Burris Subconscious Restructuring™ protocol of no labels, no meds, and no personal history when working with her clients. Just like everyone else, Liz was trained over a 12-hour period and prefers to use this method over her six years of education in psychology. There is one simple reason for this: through all of her training, the Subconscious Restructuring™ protocols are the only tools that provide clear and measurable outcomes. Measurable outcomes are an emphatically clear way of saying: that she KNOWS when her clients are making progress toward their objectives and how to support them if progress slows. Liz wants everyone to know there is an easy way to relieve anguish in life. Just ask her.

Karl Monger, MSRT: Military Population
Karl is a veteran US Army officer, having commanded an infantry company and served as a Ranger battalion personnel and assistant operations officer. He has also led a Big Brothers Big Sisters agency and held leadership positions in construction equipment companies.

In 2010, he founded the nonprofit GallantFew, Inc., an organization focused on helping veterans transition from the military to civilian lives full of purpose and hope. GallantFew's STAR system Self-Training and Response-ability helps veterans focus on five Functional Fitness areas: Physical, Social, Professional, Spiritual, and Emotional. Burris Subconscious Restructuring™ provides the foundation for GallantFew's Emotional Fitness program. Karl believes in it because it provides an intentional, measurable process for identifying objectives and provides concrete methods for obtaining those objectives. He works with both active duty military and veterans (from any branch of the service).

A veteran who reluctantly took coaching later wrote:  "I wanted you to know that I was pessimistic about this call today, but to be honest, that was more helpful and insightful than all those years of counseling at the VA."
Visit www.gallantfew.org to learn more.

Lana Kerr, MSRT: Ages 9 – 17
Lana Kerr is the Founder and President of TLK Wellness Inc. Your Fat Loss Coach. She has been in the Wellness Industry for over 14 years. She is a student of Holistic health and is currently pursuing a Master's of Science to then further to a Doctorate Program. Lana is a Nutritional Consultant and earned a Master Burris Certification.

She is married and the mother of 2 children. Her passion is helping her clients achieve optimal health, and she thoroughly enjoys the transformations she witnesses very quickly with them. She is amazed at how clients become more confident and thus become better people. Her secret to success is her ability to create and maintain long-term relationships.

This treatment has transformed her life. Though she has exercised her whole life, nothing has proven to be more effective for her. She absolutely enjoys helping others do the same.

Conclusion
Regardless of the modality used in Emotional Fitness™ (mental health) the fundamental question is "does it work?" You can only know if it works by measuring and tracking the client's progress at every session.

About Kelly Burris, PhD, MSRT
Kelly Burris has defined 'Normal' in an industry, which only defines broken or disordered. He is the developer of the empirically sound Subconscious Restructuring™ process and founder of Burris Institute. With over 250 medical references, Subconscious Restructuring™ represents a scientific breakthrough in mental health, and it has done this without meds, labels, or personal history.

As part of the Burris ecosystem, SR™ Practitioners can manage, track and interact with current and future clients after certification on BurrisConnect.com. This same ecosystem enables corporate, military, and educational entities to supervise and monitor the performance of their internal Subconscious Restructuring™ (mental health) infrastructure in the cloud.

Blog Tags: 
Mental Health
Counseling
psychotherapy
psychiatry
Coaching