Provocative Change Works

The differences between "Provocative Therapy" and "Provocative Change Works"

In recent times I was explaining to a colleague about the difference between Provocative Therapy and the Provocative Change Works approaches. The Provocative Change Works approach is very different in a number of respects to Frank Farrelly's Provocative Therapy which is detailed in the original book of the same name that was published in the mid 1970s.

Provocative Change Works uses the "provocative elements of communication" alongside NLP and hypnosis tools. Although Frank does not describe what he does in Provocative Therapy as "hypnosis", many clients report going into "trance like states" This was certainly my experience when I first met him in 2004 and had my first interview with him!

In Provocative Change Works I combine Ericksonian hypnotic patterns with elements of Provocative Therapy. I have found this combination of tools to produce the fastest, most successful and lasting results when working with clients. This combined approach which I use in my private practice is demonstrated extensively on the "Provocative Change Works for Phobias" DVD set.

In classic Provocative Therapy the therapist will start the session with the question "What's the problem?" In Provocative Change Works I may use this approach during the session, but not always at the start of the session. In private practice I ask clients to complete a set of notes prior to seeing me in person and then begin the session by implementing "yes sets" to set the direction of the interview. Provocative Therapy also does not formally use submodality work as found in NLP to change client states, but the Provocative Change Works approach does use this tool set alongside provoking the client while taking note of the different rep systems the client is using to feedback his or her responses.

Provocative Change Works also uses the "right here, right now" philosophy that Frank uses in Provocative Therapy and everything that occurs in the session is about what is happening in each moment and normally without many of the overt techniques used by some NLP practitioners.

On the Provocative Change Works for Phobias DVD set, I provide an audio commentary during the needle phobia session where I describe how I switch between PT, NLP and trance work, and frequently chain specific states to produce successful outcomes for the client. There are many other differences between these two approaches, but its true to say that Frank Farrelly, Richard Bandler and Milton Erickson are the primary influences in creating the Provocative Change Works approach with astoundingly effective results. I run trainings in both Provocative Therapy (in "the classical sense") and my own "Provocative Change Works" approach.

- Nick Kemp