 This week on The Anxious Truth, we're going to talk about the work of Dr. Claire Weeks. Specifically, we're going to answer the question, is it a deal breaker if my therapist doesn't know who she is and doesn't follow her methods? So let's get to it. Hello everybody. Welcome back to The Anxious Truth. This is episode number 278. We are recording in early November of 2023 for those of who are listening in the future. I am Drew Linsalata, creator and host of The Anxious Truth. This is the podcast that covers all things anxiety, anxiety disorders, and anxiety recovery. So if you are dealing with issues like panic attacks, panic disorder, agoraphobia, OCD, health anxiety, and things of that ilk, welcome. If you've stumbled upon the podcast, we're glad you're here and I hope you find the content helpful. And of course, if you are a returning listener or viewer on YouTube, welcome back. Always glad that you're here and able to spend some time with me. This week, we're going to talk about the work of Dr. Claire Weeks. Those of you who have followed me for any length of time have heard me talk about Dr. Weeks many, many, many times. I credit her with having a profound influence on my life, both in my personal journey with anxiety and depression and anxiety disorders and professionally as well. She's certainly an inspiration to me. I will use the word hero. It's a strong word, but I will apply it to Dr. Weeks. This week, I want to kind of dispel a few myths that surround Dr. Weeks and her role in modern therapy. But before we get into that. And by the way, this is no disrespect to Dr. Weeks. I have her on a pedestal and she will remain there and she gets credit for me all the damn time and will continue to do so. But we need to take a more clear look at how she fits into the modern therapeutic landscape. But before we do that, just a quick reminder, as always, you guys are tired of this. But the anxious truth is more than just this podcast episode or this YouTube video. And by the way, quick program note, we're trying some new technical things on the podcast this week. So there's no video on YouTube. It's only audio. Sorry, guys. If you it's more than just this podcast episode or this YouTube video, the anxious truth is two hundred and seventy seven prior free podcast episodes and YouTube videos. It's live streams on YouTube. It's a ton of free social media content. It's three books on anxiety and anxiety recovery. It's workshops, it's courses, it's support groups. It's an Instagram subscriber group. There's a whole lot going on. You can find all of the goodies on my website at the anxious truth.com. So when you get a moment, go check it all out and evaluate yourself of the stuff, much of which is free. So let's get into today's topic, Dr. Claire Weeks, Dr. Weeks for those who are unfamiliar with her. Many of you guys are familiar with her because many people find this podcast because you search for Claire Weeks and you see some of the old podcast episodes and videos that I did with my friend, Holly, where we went through hope and help for your nerves, which I believe in other countries is called self-help for your nerves was her first book. And we were going through that chapter by chapter several years ago. And that's how a lot of you guys stumbled upon the anxious truth. So I'm glad that you're here if you do know that, or you maybe have found this podcast in my work through like the Claire Weeks group on Facebook, that sort of thing. I'm very proud to be associated with that kind of work and recommended in Claire Weeks circles. But Dr. Weeks was kind of a pioneer for sure. In the early days, like back in the 1950s and 1960s, she was a hundred percent a pioneer and applying principles of acceptance to the anxiety state 100 percent. She was blazing a trail there, but it is true that many therapists now in 2023 have no idea who Dr. Claire Weeks was. They do not know what the Claire Weeks method is in air quotes. And we want to know, is that a deal breaker? So let's dig into it a little bit. I believe personally that Claire Weeks does not get even close to the recognition and respect and credit she deserves for revolutionizing things. This is 100 percent true. Some of it was because she was a woman, but a lot of that was based on other factors. She was snubbed because she was not a researcher in psychology or psychiatry. She was not really an academic. She was a medical doctor, very different. And yes, she was a woman in a time when women were not still accepted in this field. She was shunned. She was discredited. It's not OK. I mean, Dr. Weeks was a researcher, but she was a researcher early in her life in the field of zoology. In fact, some of the work that she has done that she did early on in her life in zoology is still referenced today. She was specialized in studying lizards, believe it or not. But she was not a researcher in the area she ultimately became famous in, which was dealing with anxiety problems. Although I would say that the work that she did early on in zoology definitely informed her later work. But she wasn't accepted as a member of the club back then. The therapy club, the psychiatry club, the mental health club. She was not accepted. She was snubbed for sure. And we can call that unjust, a travesty, a crime. I would totally agree with all of that. Again, Dr. Weeks is a hero for me. I think that she belongs in being mentioned alongside the pioneers in the field of therapy, especially as it relates to anxiety disorders, but often she is not. So let's talk about another kind of fact little factoid about Dr. Weeks. Again, this is not any disrespect. She wasn't really inventing new things. OK, you have to recognize and this is important because it's going to inform what we say in a little bit. She was relying on principles that have existed for thousands of years and we can find those principles in stoic philosophy and Buddhism and Taoism like this. None of this was new, right? So acceptance is not a new thing that goes back thousands of years, like people were thinking about how to deal with life and the principle of accepting can be traced all the way back to our earliest philosophies. So what also, you know, facing fear, welcoming challenges, those things are woven in to our philosophies going back thousands of years. But what Dr. Weeks was really great at and what she pioneered was describing those things in layman's terms, taking it sort of directly to the public and out of the ivory tower and helping people apply those principles in real life when struggling with anxiety disorders. So that, in my mind, is her greatest contribution when she was snubbed. And by the way, if you haven't read her biography, The Woman Who Cracked the Anxiety Code, it's a good book. I just recently read it, took me long enough. It's a pretty fast read, very interesting. But when you look at that, you see how she was kind of snubbed for not being in the ivory tower. So what she did was, well, forget you guys then. I'm just going to go right to the public with this, which was revolutionary at the time. So she brought her ideas in terms of treating anxiety directly to the public through writing books, which was amazing. And she helped thousands and thousands and thousands of people and continues to, even long after she's passed. So that's what she was really great at. She didn't necessarily invent a method, but what she was doing, and this is amazing to me, is Dr. Weeks was so noteworthy in her time. I think what was so noteworthy about the work she was doing back then was that she was essentially describing what would become the third wave of cognitive behavioral therapies while the second wave was just emerging. So while guys like Beck and Ellis were just starting to describe the second wave of cognitive behavioral therapies adding the C to the B, because previously we were kind of in the first wave, which was very behaviorally based or like operant conditioning, classical conditioning based. While those guys were sort of starting to introduce the second wave of CBT by stressing cognition, Dr. Weeks was 60 years ahead of her time describing the third wave when there was no third wave. So you could make the argument that she invented third wave therapies 60 years before they showed up. That's not a bad argument, but that is what I find amazing. She had literally jumped over the work of some of her contemporaries and she was describing some of the stuff that we would do now and this is important, keep this in mind because I think that's a big deal. So you have to remember also that that was not only leapfrogging ahead of people like Beck and Ellis in that crowd, but she was head on like belligerently attacking the Freudians who back in the 50s and 60s still kind of ruled the roost. Like those Freudian theories and neofroidian theories, psychoanalytic theories were still at the top of the heap in terms of psychiatry and mental health. Now that has since fallen off, but back then that was still a thing. Most treatment was based on the idea that you must dig into your subconscious and dig and dig and talk and talk and maybe you would never actually get cured but you could try and find some understanding and find your flaws. So all of those psychoanalytical Freudian and neofroidian things were still at the top of the roost. They, those ruled the roost and she was aggressively dismissive of the use of psychoanalytic theories in treating anxiety disorders. And guess what? She was right. So she was definitely a pioneer and well worthy of respect and mentioned among the greats because she dared to challenge that openly as a woman who is not a psychiatrist and not in like academia in mental health, psychiatry and psychology. Like the audacity of her, right? Which I kind of did. So you have to remember all of that stuff. That's why she was in many ways snubbed, disrespected and still isn't included in the discussion in many instances which she definitely should be. I think we could all agree on that. I would agree with that. So then if we get to the question of the day that question is, is it a deal breaker if you are looking for a therapist and you find a therapist but that therapist or counselor does not know who Dr. Weeks was. Is it a deal breaker? If that therapist doesn't know the Claire Weeks method, air quotes the Claire Weeks method and the answer really in 2023 is no. That's not a deal breaker. Let me explain why that is really not a deal breaker. Dr. Weeks and her work was brought directly to the public. So it was never sort of slipstreamed into training, formal training. And like the academic world of mental health, psychiatry, psychology, therapy. So Dr. Weeks, her work is not taught to therapists during formal training. There are times when you will certainly find teachers if you're training at CBT or even training in third wave therapies who individually may know her and may pay homage to her and recognize her role. But the Claire Weeks method, there's no such thing sort of in the training for a modern therapist. Now, why is that? One reason is yes, she was kind of snubbed, you know, a lot unfortunately for all the reasons we've been talking about. That's true. But also one of the things that she never did is she never kind of created that Institute or the foundation to train other clinicians and turn her air quotes method into an actual method. She didn't do that. So it's interesting because if you look at say that the people, the other big names from that time which would be say Beck and Ellis, those guys created institutes like Albert Ellis Institute to take his theories and his methods and distribute them to other clinicians and perpetuate them. The Beck Institute still exists. I believe the Ellis Institute does too. But there was never a Weeks Institute. In fact, if you read her biography, I can't remember the author's name now but the book is called The Woman Who Cracked the Anxiety Code. It's a very interesting read like I said, you'll see that like Dr. Weeks kind of resisted some of that. She's tended to be protective of her work and because she wasn't accepted, the few like big names in the field of mental health at the time that recognized her and tried to bring her into the fold or champion on her behalf, sometimes she snubbed them. I get it, not a fault. But that's another reason why no therapist is trained on the Claire Weeks method because it was never manualized or methodized. She never took that step. Now maybe if she had, we would be having a very different conversation right now and the landscape might be very different right now in terms of therapy. It's possible, but she didn't do that. So I think the answer here is if you were looking for help with an anxiety disorder in 1963, a therapist that did not know who Dr. Weeks was and did not know her methods, it was probably a deal breaker. True because you couldn't find anybody who was doing it that way. She was a rare bird in that era and there weren't a lot of people who were following those methods. So if you were looking for help back then in the 60s, even into the early 70s, mid-70s, early 80s, you might say that this person doesn't know who Dr. Weeks is, it doesn't follow her methods. I'm not hiring this person. That's a deal breaker. But now, not so much. Now why is that? That's because while her work was foundational, it has essentially been improved upon and broadened and deepened with therapies like ACT or mindfulness-based CBT or metacognitive therapies or other treatment methods that do rely on principles of acceptance and mindfulness and living in the moment and connecting to values and that sort of thing. So anxiety specialists now are trained in those methods. So you don't need a therapist that follows the Claire Weeks method primarily because sort of modern, empirically validated treatments for anxiety disorder to chronic and disordered states of anxiety are the Claire Weeks method just updated and supercharged over 60 years. So you don't need if somebody, if a therapist says, I'm sorry, I've never heard of Claire Weeks or no, I don't know what the Claire Weeks method is, but that therapist is trained in ACT or mindfulness-based CBT or DBT or metacognitive therapy. It's all good because they are essentially following the Claire Weeks method by default. You're getting that baked in. Even though that person might not know that, it might not necessarily be officially acknowledged or talked about, which is a crime. We could argue that for sure, but you're getting her work in a modern form now. So it's not required for a therapist to know who she was. I mean, you could even argue at this stage of the game, I'm a big fan of ACT, which is acceptance and commitment therapy that was pioneered by Stephen Hayes, but I bet you there's a lot of therapists who are well-trained in ACT that might not even know who Stephen Hayes is. It's very possible. I mean, it would be nice if they knew. You would think you almost can't be trained without being told that he invented it, but it's not required. If there was an ACT trained therapist who was good at what they did and didn't really know who Stephen Hayes is, excuse me, that wouldn't be a deal breaker for me. So it's kind of an interesting thing to look at because if you've read Dr. Weeks or you follow people like me who are sort of disciples and sound like her, you can become really emotionally attached to that and you may think like, well, this woman is speaking directly to me. She knows what I'm going through and that was true. And that's partially because she lived the experience too, although she hid it for a long time. She did not admit that her case studies in her early books was her, but interesting, it doesn't matter. It doesn't make it any worse. She just chose to make that choice for her personal reasons, which is fine. But if you have become sort of emotionally attached because the books speak to you and it feels like she knows what you're dealing with, she understands and then she was trying to be genuinely helpful, I get that. But it still doesn't mean that you need a therapist who knows who she is or follows her methods, if you will. Because if they're trained in modern therapies, they're already kind of following her methods, it's baked in to what they're doing. Now, is it a bonus? If you find a therapist that knows Claire Weeks, oh, hell it is. It definitely is. So why is it a bonus? Well, it kind of gives you a common ground. It gives you commonality. It gives you some common language to work from because if you say to the therapist, except float, let time pass, they would get what you're saying. And it also indicates maybe, this is just an opinion. I can't say that there's any truth or research behind this, but indicates that you have a therapist that's maybe a little better well read, maybe a little bit more invested in the topic of anxiety and anxiety disorders. They've taken the time to learn the history, but it's just simply not an absolute requirement. So if you're looking for a therapist now, in 2023, I would say, look for therapists that are trained in things like ACT or mindfulness-based CBT or metacognitive therapies, other modern modalities. If you find that, you are in fact getting the Claire Weeks method on the down low. It's baked, it's in there, it's baked in already. So you don't need somebody who specifically knows who Dr. Weeks was. It would be nice if they did, but if they don't, that's okay. Now that's different than saying you can pick a therapist that's a psychoanalyst or somebody who's an edularian or somebody who decides that they're a Jungian therapist. That's not exactly right. You might question that applicability in my view because I'm not sure those are the best treatments, but if it is for you, that's fine. But if you're looking at somebody who sounds like me, for instance, or the people I work with, or understands those modern methods that I've been describing, it's okay. So they don't need to know who Dr. Weeks is. Again, I just wanna end by saying this is not meant to take anything away from her at all. She absolutely deserves more respect, more recognition. She deserves a place in the history of therapy. I think, I firmly believe that. But in the end, we have to recognize that things change over time. You know, 60 years ago, plus at this point, science improves things for us. Research informs new actions. It gives us new methods, right? More clinical real-world data tells us what works and what doesn't. And any treatment method, like any method, it's gonna improve, it's gonna morph, it's gonna change, and it may even get dropped over time as we learn more and gather more data. So Dr. Weeks was 100% significant. She just did her work of pretty long time ago. So at this stage of the game, there's no need to insist that a therapist follows her specifically. I mean, one day the therapies that we rely on now that we find most effective will maybe be unrecognizable or we may have found other ways that are better and they will begin to fall by the wayside and be forgotten as possible. So keep that in mind. It's nothing against Dr. Weeks and if you are emotionally attached to her work, that's fine, but don't shortchange yourself by insisting that you must find a Weeksian therapist. A therapist that speaks Weeks is a bonus, but it's not a requirement. And I'll just add that one of the coolest things that I have ever heard that made me feel so good is several times people have said that they didn't wanna hire a therapist because that therapist never heard of me. And in that situation, it's like, are you kidding? No, like definitely, definitely do not insist that a therapist knows who I am. That's not a thing at all. So I just wanted to throw that out there to sort of wrap up this episode because if you're insisting that you got a hire therapist that only knows the anxious truth, you're gonna miss some really good therapists. So don't make that mistake, please. I'm flattered, but don't do that. And that's it. That's what I have to say about Dr. Weeks, a giant in the field, somebody terribly important to me and many of you listening. She's the reason why a lot of you are listening today and I know that she's still being helpful to a lot of people but it is not a deal breaker in 2023 if you find a therapist that doesn't know who she is. Don't include that as a requirement when you're looking for help, professional help. That is it. That is episode 278 of the anxious truth in the books. You know it's over because you can hear some music. I dig the new music now. It's grown on me and a lot of you guys like it. I appreciate the feedback. I will end the episode like I always do. I'm gonna ask a favor if you're listening on Apple podcast or Spotify and you can leave a rating or a review, leave a five star rating if you like the podcast and if you really like it, maybe take a minute and write a review because it helps other people find the podcast and get the help that they may need or want which makes me feel good. And if you're listening on YouTube or watching on YouTube, subscribe to the channel, hit the notification bell so you know when I upload new stuff, like the video or maybe leave a comment because I will always interact with you guys on YouTube. It might take me a while to get there but I will and yeah, that's it. I will always remind you at the end of every episode that even when you are struggling and it seems hard to take a step forward, anything that you can do to step toward recovery and away from avoidance counts. So do your best today to take a chance on yourself, believing yourself a little more and try to take a small step in that direction. It will matter, it will add up and over time they will get you where you need to be. I will be back in two weeks with episode 279. Don't know what it's gonna be but I will be here. Thanks for listening and I will see you then.