Just to remind you all I wrote to Phil Parker in September 2007 with 7 questions. He wrote back immediately to say he was off to America and would respond when he got back.

On February 14th 2008 I received answers to the 7 questions.

My original email is first, with Phil Parker’s responses in bold and in italics inbetween.

Dear Mr Phil Parker
My name is Marianne Gutierrez and I have a website mainly for my thoughts but also my opinions on therapies that claim to cure CFS/ME.
I wonder if you would be kind enough to answer a few questions about your Lightning Process?

Dear Marianne,

Sorry it’s taken so long to reply, I’m currently in Oslo and its 5.45 a.m !

1. Do you think that psychological/psychiatric aspects are the cause of CFS/ME?

1) This is a very commonly asked question and the answer is a clear NO.
The Lightning process, in fact, considers ME to be a genuine physical illness with disturbances of the immunological, endocrinal, neurological and musculo-skeletal systems in particular. It also considers that there is a powerful link both between the body and the mind and the mind and the body. A large part of the first day of the LP training is taken up with a full explanation and discussion of the mechanisms and pathophysiology that underlie how ME begins and is maintained.
Many of our findings are concur with those of Dr. Vergard Wyller’s, Norway’s leading M.E researcher.
I think the reason we are asked this question so much is that many people (and the m.e associations too) are very rightly concerned about any approach which seems to indicate that “it’s in the mind” which could open up the old and unreasonable argument that “people with m.e are just pretending to be ill”. As I’m sure you are aware many people, including us, have spent a lot of time working hard to dispel that wrong and unhelpful perspective.

2. If the answer to the above is ‘Yes’, why do you think that? If your answer to the above is ‘No’, what do you think is the cause?

2) I would concur again with Dr. Wyller’s findings of a “ heterogeneity of causal factors leading to a final common pathway”- or in simple terms, there can be many and varied ways to get m.e (virus, bacteria, reaction to chemicals/vaccine/operation, or even stress) what then follows in an ability of the body’s systems to make appropriate physical responses to the original causal agent. This incompletely resolved original event then in turn sets up further imbalance within more and more body systems, which in turn trigger more and more imbalances in different systems. This is much like a person walking a tight rope, as they start to fall to right side, for example, they attempt to prevent themselves falling by moving towards the left side, but this will often make them swing too far over to the other left, making them even more unstable, which they try and correct by leaning even more to the right side, and fairly quickly they fall off.

Our approach recognises that although we can hypothesise about it, we will probably never know for certain what exactly it was that caused one particular individuals m.e- but the more important question is how can we help them to rebalance themselves and generate a recovery.

3. What is your definition of a) training and b) automatic response?
(by the by, Phil wrote and asked me what I meant by automatic response. I wrote back saying that I meant something ‘learnt’ by rote which gave an automatic response. For example I learnt the times tables by rote. I would be able to tell you what 9×9 was by reciting the 9 times tables; at the time, at the age of 7, I could not have worked it out. Personally I feel training produces an automatic response and I am not too sure if this is a good thing as I prefer to make an informed choice about things or work it out. So now when working out 9×9, I think 9×10 = 90 minus 9 = 81 therefore 9×9 = 81. I think there is a danger with automatic responses to the individual. I was told of one person who had been ‘trained’ to think that he wasn’t ill anymore. However later he became suicidal because his mind was telling him he wasn’t ill, but his body was telling him he was.)

3) the LP is a training rather than a treatment as it requires the individual to take the pivotal role in recovering that balance- if we use the tight rope analogy from above, we could

Glue the person to the tight rope- they are now not falling off- but they are also stuck there and can’t do anything else

We could follow them around, holding them up so they don’t fall off, but that is a full time job and they are now dependent on us and our presence

Or, more ideally, they could master the art of balance through training, then they don’t need us anymore, they are independent and can walk on any tight rope, in any part of the world with confidence, so that now that tightrope, doesn’t even seem like a tightrope, it just seems as wide as any path- this is the kind of automation, or unconscious competence that we use the LP to help re-establish.

4. What calibre of person do you expect to be successful with your process?

4) In our experience, as with any training program, the people who experience the quickest benefits of the process are those who are prepared to do the required work, and make it their responsibility to apply the process to their issues- after all the basic seminars are only 3 days long, which is enough time to train people, but most of the work required to be well and stay well happens after they leave the seminar. Our assessment procedures are designed to help potential trainees consider whether they are ready to make that kind of commitment to themselves, or if they need more time for consideration before embarking on the training. The website and Introduction to the LP book are both designed to help them make those decisions, so they can be as fully prepared as possible to get maximum benefit from the training. Our practitioners have an ethical duty to ensure as much as possible that trainees are as ready as they can be before starting the training- and if they feel the trainee needs more to do more preparation, they will advise them to do some more home work before being re-assessed again.

5. Do you think that your patients have a right to know every aspect, experience and qualification that you and your practitioners use on your patients? Can you list those aspects here?

5) Just for clarity, it’s worth re-iterating that we do not have patients within the LP, as they are trainees, and yes we are happy for them to know about our qualifications and experience. Every practitioner has been personally trained by me over a course of 12 months. They have had to do supervised clinical work, observation of experienced practitioners at work, written exams and a clinical exam. They graduate as Lightning Process Practitioners, but hold diplomas in Hypnotherapy, life coaching and NLP. They are required for follow a code of ethics that similar to most professional bodies working in health care and training, and their continued registration is dependent on following that code and attending our official continual professional development curriculum.

6. Giving an average how long does it take to be successful for people using your process?

6) This is entirely dependent on the individual; we have seen some people get major shifts just by reading our literature or talking to a practitioner on the phone, but more usually it takes between 1 day and 3 weeks for people to get the results they wanted from the training.

7. What measures do you have in place to gauge the Lightning Process success rate?

7) There are 3 research programs currently focusing on the LP.

1. We run an exit survey, where we ask trainees to fill in a questionnaire, asking questions such as “did you have m.e/cfs before you started the training” and on day 3 “do you still have it?”, and “do you ever expect to return?”. For those who still have some symptoms remaining on day 3, we collect data as to whether they feel the training was useful, appropriate, if they need a longer time period to employ the skills to make the changes they want and so on. There is a six month follow of these subjects to see what their long term results are. We are 5 months into this project and so only have the first part of the data available( 85% said by day 3 they didn’t have m.e /cfs any more, the other 15% said they needed more time to apply the skills of the process, and to apply them more effectively to get the complete level of change they desired).

2. Prof. Findley is in charge of another research project which is considering “ patient outcomes” the data is still be collected for this.

3. A UK university is planning a project on the LP, but at this stage I am not allowed to go into any details, as it’s going through an ethical committee at present.

I hope this answers you questions, if you need more information please let us know, but due to my hectic schedule there is likely to be another time lag between your request and my response, so please bear with me.

All the best,

Phil

After reading the responses to the questions I asked Phil two further questions, he is a busy man so there was another wait for his response:

1) You state: “The Lightning Process, in fact, considers ME to be a genuine physical illness with disturbances of the immunological, endocrinal, neurological and musculo-skeletal systems in particular.” So what is it in your training process that helps the physical imbalances ie musculo-skeletal?

This is actually a rather complex question to answer. We spend over an hour describing the interactions between the various systems on the seminar; very briefly the neurological components of the illness have a direct effect on the hormonal systems which in turn particularly affect the way muscles are fuelled, controlled and exhausted. The resulting muscular dysfunction further fuels the endocrinal and neurological dysfunction.

This picture is further complicated by the fact that changes in the endocrinal system also affect the neurological and immunological systems.

In fact, the more systems that are dysfunctioning the more “ripple” effects they will have on other systems, which in turn will cause even more disruption throughout all body systems.

This is one of the reasons why both neurologists, immunologists, osteopaths, virologists etc. can all reasonably claim to be pursuing solutions to the problem of ME.

2) In your training programme for your practitioners found on your website, it states that tarot cards may be used. Can you explain this?

The college runs a number of training courses for different student groups. The course you refer to is not part of the Diploma or Lightning Process training courses. This should be clear from the on-line course literature. It would be helpful to us if you could re-read it and if it still looks as if these courses are linked can you please let us know so we can make it even clearer that the course you mention is completely separate to the Lightning Process Practitioner Training.

Just to make everything clear I asked Phil for permission to publish his answers on this website.

Dear
Is Phil Parker agreeable to allowing me to publish his answers to my 7 questions on my website?
I look forward to hearing from you
Marianne Gutierrez

Dear Marianne,
I hope you receive Phil’s e-mail sent yesterday, as he is indeed happy for you to publish his response in your article.
Kind Regards

Here is a copy of my email in response to Phil’s query in his last email, sent to Phil today – 26th February 2008

Hi Phil

You said: ‘The college runs a number of training courses for different student groups. The course you refer to is not part of the Diploma or Lightning Process training courses. This should be clear from the on-line course literature. It would be helpful to us if you could re-read it and if it still looks as if these courses are linked can you please let us know so we can make it even clearer that the course you mention is completely separate to the Lightning Process Practitioner Training.’

My answer has been comprised from the following findings:

Click on: Phil Parker
Scroll down to Page 6 and see Module 9 Meditation Dowsing.

The pdf is a prospectus for your course on Healing.

‘9 Meditation Dowsing
Module 9 concentrates on dowsing (making predictions based on the spinning of a pendulum). Using a pendulum in healing can focus your attention on the area of a client’s body that needs healing, as its usage relies on energy and changes in hte energy fields.’

‘In this module the anatomy section will be looking at the body’s muscular system.’

‘The practical section of this module combines the use of tarot/medicine cards and the use of dowsing to practically analyse the needs of a client.’

Click on: Healing

This is from the course you offer on Healing and you list all the aspects involved:

Areas covered in each module.
1-10 All modules will include instruction in Anatomy, Physiology & Practical Supervised Healing Sessions
1 Contacting your healing guides; Clearing and protecting
2 Centering & finding the Source; Healing Touch
3 Tuning in and reading the body
4 Understanding the Laws of energy; Creative visualisation
5 Ethics
6 Subtle anatomy
7 Expectations & Healing listening
8 Using divination
9 Meditation dowsing
10 Completion & future

Now click on this link: Hyp

NLP, Hypnotherapy, EFT, Life Coaching, Structural & Cranial Osteopathy & Healing Consultations

You can consult one of our experienced practitioners in NLP, Hypnotherapy, EFT, Life Coaching, Structural & Cranial Osteopathy & Healing at our London clinic.

Please select a link from the list on the left for more details

To find out more about our NLP, Hypnotherapy, EFT, Life Coaching, Structural & Cranial Osteopathy & Healing practitioners click here

Click on: Practitioners and scroll to the piece on Phil Parker:

Phil has been lecturing in self hypnosis and hypnosis, osteopathy and healing at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels since the 1980’s.

You yourself must be a qualified Healer to be able to lecture in the subject.

Which makes me assume that there must be other Lightning Process practitioners also trained in Healing.

So although the two therapies are separate there must be a ‘linking’ between all the training processes (NLP, Hypnotherapy, Life Coaching, Lightning Process, Osteopathy and Healing) when seeing a ‘trainee’ for the Lightning Process.

You may be able to state that the Lightning Process training does not involve meditation, dowsing or the use of tarot cards but your site, your college, you yourself offers a course in Healing so the inference is there that Lightning Process practitioners may use tarot cards or dowsing if they have also completed and passed the course on Healing.

How is the discerning patient or ‘trainee’ as you prefer to call your clients to know if the practitioner they have paid to see is using ‘Healing’ techniques as well as NLP, Hypnotherapy, Life Coaching, Osteopathy and Lightning Process?

This email has been published on my website.

I do thank you for taking the time to answer my queries. I remain convinced that your therapy is psychiatry and that you are treating an illness that you think is all in the mind.

I am also concerned that some Lightning Therapists who have also completed the Healing course may use aspects of that during a Lightning treatment.

I do understand the mind and body in harmony. But it is physical aspects that got me ill and it is a physical programme that is showing promise in making me feel better.

Thank you so much for your time.

With very good wishes
Marianne

My point all along about the Lightning Process is that it is a form of psychiatry which Phil Parker does not dispute because he says that NLP and Hypnotherapy are tools of psychiatry. See: NLP Hypnotherapy Life Coaching and I quote:

‘NLP (Neuro linguistic programming)… is an offshoot of Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy’

The word magic has been used before by Phil Parker and is used in his training for Healers.

This gave some people concern about the methods used and for some people the use of tarot cards and pendulums would be considered dubious.

I also wonder if any research into The Lightning Process includes the evidence and findings of the separate aspects used that combined together add up to the Lightning Process including those Practitioners trained in the Healing course.

However despite all Phil Parker’s kindnesses in responding to my questions I still think that his therapy is Psychiatry (which is psychology, psychotherapy) and I do also sympathise with the concerns of some that he and some of his Lightning Process practitioners may use aspects from their Healing course, that is tarot cards or divination.

From Phil Parker today 27th February 2008

Hi Marianne,

Thanks for your final email. I hope, for the sake of accuracy, you will choose to publish this email along with your last one as it raises two very important points.

1)’Phil has been lecturing in self hypnosis and hypnosis, osteopathy and healing at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels since the 1980’s.’

‘You yourself must be a qualified Healer to be able to lecture in the subject.’

‘Which makes me assume that there must be other Lightning Process practitioners also trained in Healing.’

This is clearly not a logical conclusion. If I am a skilled and trained musician and teach students music and also a trainer or designer of the Lightning Process it does NOT follow that all LP practitioners learn music with me. The Lightning Process is not related to the healing course or healing, it’s a very logically sound training process. This is a link to a testimonial from a committed christian who had concerns as to whether the LP would conflict with her strongly held religious beliefs – Gemma’s story

‘2) I remain convinced that your therapy is psychiatry and that you are treating an illness that you think is all in the mind. I am also concerned that some Lightning Therapists who have also completed the Healing course may use aspects of that during a Lightning treatment.’

I thought I was getting involved in a reasoned discussion about the factual aspects of the Process, and yet in spite of every answer I’ve given you about the LP being VERY clear that M.E. is not all in the mind, but is a multi-system illness, you continue to stick to your perspective, which is based on rumour, second or third hand information and not based on any DIRECT experience of the Process.

I am happy to agree that we disagree about what the Process considers to be the cause of this devastating illness, although as its Designer one would imagine I might know something about this; to restate “The Lightning Process, in fact, considers ME to be a genuine physical illness with disturbances of the immunological, endocrinal, neurological and musculo-skeletal systems in particular.”

As a final point to this discussion, nobody has to do the LP; it’s a free choice. We expect with time that these kinds of discussions and opinions will fade, as the LP will stand or fall on both the research that is currently underway and even more importantly real results in real people’s lives.

Above all what should be celebrated is that a massive amount of people each year are now well as a result of the Process, and even if you (and whoever is reading this) don’t take the training it should at least open up the idea that there is the real possibility of a future without this horrific illness.

I wish you the best with your path to wellness, whatever it is.

Kind Regards

Phil

My final, hopefully final, points are:

• I have never been against the Lightning Process per se.
• I have always suggested people try it and see.
• If it helps people to wellness that is wonderful.
• I have just been wondering what it is.
• I remain unconvinced that it isn’t psychiatry.
• I don’t have a problem with psychiatry.
• I wonder/muse at the Healing aspects, whether they are used, which may conflict with some Christians’ beliefs.
• I do understand that if the brain is helped to think differently muscles will relax and so physical aspects are helped when mind aspects are sorted.
• I do understand why NLP, Hypnotherapy and Life Coaching help CFS/ME.

My mantra now to most things in life is if it doesn’t make sense don’t touch it. This is why I strive to understand.

I do undertake some form of psychiatric therapy in the form of counselling from a counsellor friend of mine. It is gentle, unobtrusive, in my own time and helpful.

I’m posting this now cos I need to move from my position. I may come back and edit later.

Phil Parker, I and I am sure others will be grateful for your responses.