HISTORY OF SELECTIVE AWARENESS THERAPY

Dr. Peter Mutke became aware of the need for a new approach to medical and psychological problems during his career as a physician and surgeon.He was fascinated by the variety of different ways in which people react to illness or injury, and he noticed that patients’ belief systems and mental attitudes seemed to be powerful factors influencing survival and speed of recovery. In his search for a tool that could utilize these powerful factors, Dr.Mutke turned to Hypnotherapy, which he used, for a time, with great success. However, he was troubled by the numerous misconceptions and expectations associated with hypnosis, especially the client’s expectation of being passively controlled. So, Dr. Mutke began to develop a new approach that would have the advantage of neutral expectations. Based on sound principles of psychophysiology, S.A.T. combined positive aspects of hypnosis — such as deep relaxation, access to amnestic material, and use of creative imagery — with techniques for teaching clients to adjust their own physical and psychological functioning to normal and to take responsibility for their own well-being. S.A.T. differs from Hypnotherapy in several important ways. The S.A.T. relaxation induction purposely avoids any connotation of “trance” or “sleep,” and is regarded rather as a state of “super-consciousness” that facilitates increased insight and receptivity to change. The client’s consent is sought at all stages of therapy, giving reassurance that the client is in control and can return to social awareness at any time.

S.A.T. has elements in common with a number of other therapeutic approaches. Autogenic training, for example, also employs deep relaxation and positive imagery, which are effective in temporary relief of symptoms. However, Autogenic training is a lengthy procedure that fails to provide techniques for dealing with emotional abreactions (reexperiencing a previous emotional event) and amnestic material that may spontaneously appear during relaxation. Thus, clients cannot achieve the insight essential to lasting change.

The structure of S.A.T. is unique and it is one of the few therapeutic approaches that effectively bridges the gap between psychology and medicine, giving clients an awareness of their power to influence their own physical and mental health.