Recently I had yet another person thank me for recommending the book: The Journey, by Brandon Bays, published by Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. The synopsis of the book is that Brandon tells her story of eliminating a basketball size tumor in her abdomen, without surgery, radiation or chemo-therapy.

One of the key concepts that Brandon relied on in her journey, is the belief that every illness, or disease that our bodies do not heal, contains a message or a lesson for us. Once the lesson is learned the body is free to let go of that pattern of disease or illness and heal itself. This is a critical concept for an increasing number of health professionals both in the physical and mental/emotional areas. The core of this process is understood by Depth-Oriented Brief Therapy, and the constructivist movement in psychology.

There are an increasing number of theoretical and practical approaches which are not based on seeing the person as diseased, or having a pathology. These approaches recognize that the person is responding in adaptive and survival oriented patterns regardless of how unhealthy the response may seem to an outside observer. The basic premise in these approaches is to help the person understand the hidden motivations they hold for creating the very pattern they are trying to eliminate by going to the doctor or therapist. Once the motivations are understood, and the adaptive nature of the person’s response pattern is clear, then the person can choose to change the pattern, or continue it with the understanding that it is needed.

These patterns can be anything; over-eating, anxiety, depression, any compulsive behavior, a series of unhealthy relationships, anger problems, shyness or any other symptom pattern that brings a person to a doctor or therapist’s office. The understanding is that the individual is not sick, and that the individual’s behavior makes sense in a protective and adaptive manner, once all the subconscious and emotional truths are known.

This basic understanding is, in my opinion, one of the most important factors in helping people quickly achieve lasting change in their lives. The rate of change in this system is not limited by what the therapist thinks is needed. The rate of change is only dictated by the individual’s willingness to move forward. When it is understood that the individual is creating the very pattern they are asking the therapist to eliminate, the individual understands that they alone have the ability to change that pattern. Once the individual understands why and how they have been creating the pattern, they will know whether the pattern is truly needed, or whether there is another, more comfortable way to satisfy their needs.

Brandon used her knowledge of this process to eliminate the barriers to her body’s healing of a basketball size tumor. Many others have used the knowledge of this process to free themselves of physical and emotional problems ranging from headaches to suicidal thoughts and depression. Brandon outlines the steps in her book which makes it possible for others to duplicate her process.