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Uplift Program: Why it Works
The result of 20 years of clinical experience and research, the Uplift Program is uniquely successful (94% according to follow-up questionnaires by workshop participants) in helping people improve their mood, build healing relationships and alleviate the symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Founders Dr Bob Murray and Alicia Fortinberry have devised a ground-breaking method for healing depression which works because it addresses the underlying causes of depression and depression-related illnesses such as PTSD and "somatized illness".
Our Uplift 2 ½ day intensive provides a comprehensive immersion in our method and teaches people dramatically different techniques for building a depression-proof life. Obviously long-term depression cannot be cured in one weekend, however these tools will enable you to create truly supportive relationships in all areas of life that provide the safety and security that allows the brain and body to recover. Uplift participants find the healing and empowerment don't diminish after the workshop, but instead grows exponentially the more they practice our techniques and improve their relationships.
Here we outline why Uplift techniques are effective in helping people heal the roots of depression and anxiety.
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Relationship Difficulties
Healing relationships in the present are the key to breaking the depression-cycle of the past.
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Social Mismatch
Depression, anxiety, stress and isolation are the by-products of the "mismatch" between how we live and how we are genetically mean't to live. To heal we must learn how to create a depression-proof environment in all areas of life.
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Childhood Trauma
In addition to emotionally secure relationships, gentle Feldenkrais-like Repatterning Movements can be helpful in healing trauma.
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Physical Problem in the Brain
Structural as well as chemical problems in the brain must be addressed to stimulate healing.
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Dysfunctional Patterns and Beliefs
The Uplift brings participants to a new level of awareness of and control over limiting life patterns.
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Low Self Esteem
Boosting self esteem and competence are important in combatting ongoing depression.
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Spiritual Disconnection
Research shows that life purpose, spiritual beliefs, rituals and experiences are essential for a depression-free life.
Relationship Difficulties
Depression is the result of relationship difficulties in the first six years of life. Problems such as familial conflict, abuse and unmet needs in childhood form the basis for relationship dynamics throughout life. The child is specialized to cope with and fit into less than optimal family patterns and idealizes dysfunctional relationship styles, which he or she then seeks to recreate in future relationships. These patterns may involve depression and anxiety directly, or simply the conditions that produce these illnesses.
Since relationships gone wrong in childhood are at the heart of depression, healing relationships in the present are the solution. This is backed by all the studies of human happiness, which show good relationships to be the major source of wellbeing and contentment.
In the Uplift we teach techniques for understanding which patterns contribute to depression and for creating relationships that prevent and heal it. These include our unique Needs-Based DialogueTM relationship techniques for identifying and asking for functional, rather than dysfunctional, needs to be met. We empower individuals by teaching them skills they can use to rebuild relationships, which in turn act as a mechanism for ongoing healing, and mitigate the damage caused by dysfunctional relationships in childhood.
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Social Mismatch
Much of modern discomfort stems from alienation from our genetic heritage and the resulting layers of dysfunction in our lives. Like our nearest ape cousins, we are genetically wired to form close relationships with others of our kind. But because we no longer live in a way that is congruent with our genetic heritage -- in close-knit hunter-gatherer bands, in touch with nature on a daily basis and with a firm and mutually-agreed set of beliefs -- many of us feel trapped in stressful social and family settings.
The further we become disconnected from this nexus of supportive relationships, the more we are prone to trauma, anxiety and depression. Yet we blame ourselves for our unhappiness, and this simply adds to the problem.
Our individual problems begin with the unsupported nuclear family, which lacks the prop of a protective and nurturing band. One or even two parents alone simply cannot cope with the stressful financial, career and time demands they face without difficulties, compromises and even crises. As a result, the child may experience the traumatic effects of criticism, ridicule, neglect, familial conflict, divorce and abuse. He or she will in turn adopt coping mechanisms that may backfire later in life.
We can't turn back the clock to become hunter-gatherers, but we can create a mutually supportive network or community, free of relationship conflict and disempowerment.
The Uplift offers simple and practical techniques for creating relationships in all areas of life that act as a buffer against the stresses of our over-stressed society.
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Childhood Trauma
Childhood trauma is a direct cause of adult depression in two ways. One is that the brain becomes overloaded with negative emotions and begins to slow down, which may account for the lethargy that depressed people often feel. The child learns to cope with difficulties by emotionally absenting him or herself, or "dissociation." Repeated trauma also arrests the proper development of key areas the brain.
These traumas, and the resulting dysfunctional patterns, are often lodged in the body as well as the brain, in a process known as "somatization," and contribute to chronic pain, injuries and postural problems.
Safe and emotionally secure relationships are the single most important factor in healing childhood trauma.
But in order to change habitual patterns in the body and erase trauma's somatic signature, something else is needed. In the Uplift Program we use gentle movement, such as Feldenkrais-like Repatterning Movements, to begin to free the body from the past.
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Physical Problem in the Brain
Depression isn't just a state of mind or chemical imbalance. In cases of childhood trauma the brain's developement is compromised, and its ability to sift through emotions and make good decisions is hindered. Extreme mood shifts and the often irrational behavior of people with depression and anxiety can be the result. This is one reason why no amount of positive thinking can turn depression around.
However, scientists have recently discovered that the brain can regenerate, in a process called "neurogenesis." New research also indicates that Needs-Based relationship communication can stimulate the uptake of happiness neurochemicals.
The Uplift offers an emotionally secure and stimulating environment in which the brain can begin to heal, and shows participants how to recreate this experience in their lives.
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Dysfunctional Patterns and Beliefs
Difficult relationships in early create negative patterns or "programming," that become life-long and habitual.
The Uplift brings participants to a new level of awareness of their childhood programing. Our method goes far beyond cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in helping people to actually change their habitual reactions in two ways. First, we help people identify the root causes of negative beliefs and behaviors, and make more functional choices in their lives.
Second, and even more important, we enable people to build a far more positive relationship environment which actually creates new neural connections over time. Under these new conditions the old "programming" atrophies much like a muscle that isn't used. This ability of the brain to change is called "neuroplasticity."
Uplift participants find the healing and empowerment don't diminish after the initial workshop, but instead grows exponentially the more they practice our techniques and improve their relationships. In our workshops we use Feldenkrais-based movements to stimulate the brain to search out more effective patterns in the brain as well as the body.
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Low Self Esteem
Low self esteem is both a factor in and a result of the vicious cycle of ongoing depression and anxiety. Low self esteem is often part of the pain of teenage and young adult years. As society increasingly rewards or acknowledges fewer people and ignores modest achievements or process, the future is a scary place for youngsters. The same is increasingly true for those in middle age who feel that they have not lived up to the, often impossible, dreams of their youth -- or, more often, of their parents. This can create a profound sense of failure and hopelessness, often accompanied by crisis, addiction and loss of relationships.
The Uplift gives concrete, simple and dramatically effective techniques for boosting self esteem and a sense of competence. Participants learn, in particular, how to enlist others as part of the solution rather than part of the problem.
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Spiritual Disconnection
Research shows that life purpose, spiritual beliefs, rituals and experiences are essential for a depression-free life. The Uplift offers processes to examine blocks to one's own spirituality and meditations and rituals to help people connect more profoundly with the divine in themselves, each other, and the natural world.
 Note that the Uplift Program works whether you are taking antidepressants or not. However it is important to consult a healthcare practitioner or physician and never come off antidepressants without their advice.
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