The method and the evidence
Cognitive Pattern Reprogramming: the method and the evidence
What the method is, who made it, what it draws on, what has not been tested yet, and where it sits alongside your doctor, psychologist or other care. Nothing borrowed from someone else's research.
What has and has not been testedIn short
- What it is. An integrated method created by Rob Edmonds, drawing on Clinical Hypnosis, Strategic Psychotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming, delivered as 15 to 20 minute guided audio sessions in the MindShift app.
- What has been tested. Cognitive Pattern Reprogramming has not been tested in an independent clinical trial, and we do not claim it has.
- What we do have. Rob's one-to-one practice, two published books on the method (both free to download), and what members tell us about their own experience. None of that is the same as a trial.
- What it is not. It does not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent anything, and it is not a crisis service.
- Designed to work alongside medical, dental and psychological care, never instead of it.
In Rob's words
What Cognitive Pattern Reprogramming is
Cognitive Pattern Reprogramming is an integrated method drawing on Clinical Hypnosis, Strategic Psychotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming throughout each session. Clinical Hypnosis creates a highly focused state of attention. Within that state, Strategic Psychotherapy identifies and works with unhelpful patterns and is designed to help develop more useful ways of thinking, responding and behaving. NLP techniques are used throughout to interrupt unhelpful patterns and anchor more useful responses. People can remain aware and in control while in trance.
Guided audio is how it is delivered, not what it is. In the MindShift app each session runs 15 to 20 minutes: you lie down or sit comfortably, put your headphones on and listen. Rob writes and personally voices every session in the library himself, apart from the Dream Glow Hollow stories for children. He also uses the same method live, one to one, in Forster and by Zoom.
The three disciplines
What the method draws on
Clinical Hypnosis
Used to create a highly focused state of attention. It is not stage hypnosis. People can remain aware and in control while in trance, and you can stop a session at any point.
Strategic Psychotherapy
Identifies and works with unhelpful patterns within that focused state, and is designed to help develop more useful ways of thinking, responding and behaving.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming
Techniques used throughout each session to interrupt unhelpful patterns and anchor more useful responses.
Why we do not cite their research
Each of these disciplines has its own history and its own body of research, and the strength of that research varies from one discipline to the next and from one problem to the next. None of it was done on Cognitive Pattern Reprogramming.
So we do not point at studies of hypnosis, psychotherapy or NLP and present them as proof that our sessions work. That would be borrowing evidence that belongs to someone else, and you would have no way to tell.
Being straight about it
What has been tested, and what has not
What we can tell you
- Who created the method, and the training behind it: a Diploma of Clinical Hypnosis and Strategic Psychotherapy, and certification as a Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner.
- That it grew out of Rob's one-to-one work with clients, which he still does.
- That the method is documented in two published books by Rob Edmonds, both free to download. The books describe the approach; they are not clinical evidence of effectiveness.
- What members tell us about their own experience. Experiences vary, and they are not evidence of what will happen for you.
What we cannot tell you
- That it has been tested in an independent clinical trial. It has not.
- That there is peer-reviewed research on Cognitive Pattern Reprogramming or the MindShift app. There is not, yet.
- A success rate. We do not publish one, because we do not have a properly measured figure to publish.
- That it will work for you, or how quickly. Some people notice changes early, some more gradually, and some not at all.
If that changes, this page will be updated to say so, including what any study found.
About repetition
Why the sessions are built to be replayed
The sessions are designed to be listened to regularly, and many people choose to repeat the same session before moving on to another.
There is no fixed timeframe for when someone may notice a change. Some people notice something quite quickly, while for others it takes longer.
What matters is repetition. Repeating a session gives you more opportunity to become familiar with and reinforce more useful ways of thinking, responding and behaving.
There is no set number of days, and individual experiences vary.
Where it fits
Where it sits alongside professional care
It does not replace anyone
The sessions do not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent anything. They are not a substitute for your GP, psychologist, psychiatrist, dentist or any other practitioner.
Keep taking your medication
If you are on medication, keep taking it as prescribed. Talk to the doctor who prescribed it before changing anything. The sessions never ask you to.
Get new symptoms checked first
If something is new or getting worse, such as pain, sleep or mood, see your GP first. Rule things out before working on patterns.
Tell whoever you already see
If you have a practitioner, let them know you are using it. If you are a practitioner yourself, here is how it fits alongside your work.
Rob is not a medical practitioner or a registered psychologist. The MindShift sessions are not a crisis service. If you are in danger, call 000. For support any time, day or night, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. Your GP can also arrange a Mental Health Treatment Plan with a psychologist.
Read it for yourself
Rob, his books and his writing
Rob Edmonds
Diploma of Clinical Hypnosis and Strategic Psychotherapy
Certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner · ISPA member · ASCH member
Rob trained at the Institute of Applied Psychology in Sydney and created Cognitive Pattern Reprogramming, the approach at the heart of the MindShift Method. The method is also documented in two published books by Rob Edmonds, both free to download. The books describe the approach; they are not clinical evidence of effectiveness.
- The Mind Shift Method: Cognitive Pattern Reprogramming, ISBN 978-1-7645646-0-1
- The Mind Shift Method: Founders Built to Lead, ISBN 978-1-7645646-2-5
He also writes about the method, and the thinking behind it, on his Substack.
Read Rob on Substack · More about Rob and the team · What happens in a session
Cognitive Pattern Reprogramming evidence FAQs
Is Cognitive Pattern Reprogramming scientifically proven?
No. Cognitive Pattern Reprogramming has not been tested in an independent clinical trial, and MindShift Mentors does not claim that it has. It draws on Clinical Hypnosis, Strategic Psychotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming, but research on those disciplines was not done on this method and is not evidence that it works.
Is Cognitive Pattern Reprogramming hypnosis?
Yes, in part. Cognitive Pattern Reprogramming works within a highly focused, trance state created by Clinical Hypnosis, alongside Strategic Psychotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming. People can remain aware and in control while in trance, and you can stop a session at any point.
Who created Cognitive Pattern Reprogramming?
Rob Edmonds, co-founder of MindShift Mentors, created Cognitive Pattern Reprogramming. He holds a Diploma of Clinical Hypnosis and Strategic Psychotherapy, is a Certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner, and has written two books on the method.
Why does MindShift Mentors not publish a success rate?
MindShift Mentors does not publish a success rate because it does not have a properly measured, independently checked figure to publish. A number built from reviews or informal feedback would look like evidence without being evidence, so the site shares members' experiences as experiences and says plainly that results vary.
Are the reviews on the site evidence that it works?
No. Reviews on the MindShift Mentors site describe individual experiences. They are not evidence of what will happen for anyone else, and individual experiences vary.
Can I use the MindShift sessions alongside therapy or medication?
Yes. The MindShift sessions are designed to sit alongside medical, dental and psychological care, never instead of it. They never ask you to stop or change a medication. That decision belongs with the doctor who prescribed it.
Why are the sessions designed to be repeated?
Repetition is an important part of the MindShift approach. There is no set number of days someone needs to listen, because people respond differently. Some people notice changes quickly, while others take longer. The sessions are designed to be replayed so people can continue reinforcing more useful patterns over time.
Are the MindShift sessions suitable if I am in crisis?
No. The MindShift sessions are not a crisis service. If you are in danger, call 000. For support any time, day or night, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. Your GP can also arrange a Mental Health Treatment Plan with a psychologist.
Want to hear what a session is like?
The MindShift app is Cognitive Pattern Reprogramming as guided audio, 15 to 20 minutes a day, written and voiced by Rob.
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