United Kingdom: Optimum Health Clinic (Alex Howard)

I'd steer well clear of anything medical on YouTube. Even doctors with strings of qualifications are putting out all sorts of unfounded theories and rubbish. And as others have said, anyone can call themselves a therapist.

I'd also steer clear of the neuroplasticity and mind/body stuff you find online. It's not based on research, it's all anecdotes, and making some people a lot of money. Their victims get sucked in and end up blaming themselves when they don't get better, or if they do happen to be on an improving trajectory anyway, and happen to try one of these training/therapy/snake oil things at the time, they realise it's a great money spinner, and set themselves up in businesses with all sorts of 'feel good' names to entice people in.
 
New POD said:
So. This is my first post here, (other than my welcome post). This thread was one that came up in a search I did, because my wife had been asking me whether we should spend money to get her fixed. Obviously I'd give more than money to cure her of ME, but I don't like the hard sell. My search for answers on Google led here, to this thread.
In conclusion, it's all snake oil.
Click to expand...

Hi @New POD and welcome. I've been in the position you are in now of desperately looking a 'fix'. I've tried a fair few things and my conclusion is that anything that promises a cure is dodgy. There is no magic solution however much money you spend. It is possible to manage some symptoms like poor sleep and pain and if there is depression too that can be possibly be managed through medication or talk therapies so it is worth a GP trip.

Alex Howard is offering therapy but he is not a therapist. I do think that therapy/counselling can be helpful as a support (not a cure). We're all hoping for a 'fix' but until that a time when treatments are developed, I think support is incredibly important. People with ME can get depressed too and being depressed and having ME is a lot worse than just having ME! If you are looking for a counsellor, I would recommend going for someone who is qualified and having a chat with them first to ask about their experience of working with people with ME / other chronic illnesses. If they promise a quick fix, or any kind of fix, for ME, they are not worth it. If they understand the difficulties of living with a chronic physical illness and want to help you live your best life despite this, then they may be helpful.
 
Last edited:
New POD said:
So. This is my first post here, (other than my welcome post). This thread was one that came up in a search I did, because my wife had been asking me whether we should spend money to get her fixed. Obviously I'd give more than money to cure her of ME, but I don't like the hard sell. My search for answers on Google led here, to this thread.
In conclusion, it's all snake oil.
Click to expand...

I think that’s a fair summary.

I’ve also been thinking how sometimes we all need a bit of nutritional help like supplements or dietary changes or some manual pain relief like massage or physio or a mood reset some sunshine or relaxation, and that’s material. These
companies just hoover up all the generic information floating around about these things, that individual people have reportedly found helpful or advice that could apply to the majority humans, bung it all together in a brochure and call it a unique program.

A program, because while the company selling the program give you some of the potentially good things, they ruin all the good that the good things might happen to be doing by programming you to that it’s all your fault for not improving if the good things aren’t actually proving to be all that good for you, at that specific time.

So if feeling like taking a punt on something, if it were me I’d save money for the good things themselves whatever they may be without a third party broker.

But I am still sick so maybe I should listen to the experts and get myself on someone’s program….
 
So, Alex Howard now has a PhD in Psychology from University of Greater Manchester

Dr Alex Howard – The Optimum Health Clinic

Dr Alex Howard is Founder & Executive Chairman of The Optimum Health Clinic after his own struggle with ME/CFS...
www.theoptimumhealthclinic.com www.theoptimumhealthclinic.com

Though it may be more accurate to state that he did his PhD in the School of Psychology at the University of Greater Manchester.

Because the actual subject of Alex Howard's PhD appears to be himself, how he developed the Optimum Health Clinic, how he has 'contributed to knowledge' by developing Therapeutic Coaching (TC), and how he goes about reaching large numbers (millions) of people (He's fond of big numbers is Alex). And how he goes about making lots of money.

What the Abstract does not state is that Alex is not a psychotherapist or counsellor, not registered with the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy). Alex avoids the issue that what he does is mainly NLP, and not what most understand as Therapy or Counselling. In this Abstract Alex does not mention NLP, the Stop technique or EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique, ie Tapping oneself) which the OHC use on patients with ME (for example).

Using the methodology of autoethnography, I have acted as both the researcher and participant to explore the landscape within which I developed this framework, and the key factors in bringing this work to an international audience of millions of people.
Click to expand...

The Dissertation title is:

'The Development of therapeutic coaching and its impact upon fatigue related conditions: Critical Commentary'

Abstract (I have introduced paragraph breaks just to make it easier on the eyes)

'This critical commentary outlines my contributions to knowledge over the last 23 years of my career in developing the methodology of Therapeutic Coaching (TC), and its application to fatigue related conditions such as ME/CFS, Fibromyalgia, Lyme Disease and Long-COVID.

Using the methodology of autoethnography, I have acted as both the researcher and participant to explore the landscape within which I developed this framework, and the key factors in bringing this work to an international audience of millions of people.

I begin with a selective literature review of the historical and current mainstream treatments for fatigue related conditions, with a particular emphasis on how these have been negatively received by patient communities.

I go on to outline the history behind the development of my clinic, the Optimum Health Clinic, and how it found significant international success in creating a framework which addresses some of these limitations.

I then outline how I have used various online learning mediums to reach a wider audience, in particular my Super Conference series which has been attended by over two million people.

This is followed by a chapter introducing my professional training programs, which have trained hundreds of clinicians in over 40 countries. I conclude with reflections upon the key learnings of my career to date, and aspirations for the future, in particular a return to my academic roots, which I hope this PhD will help facilitate.'
Click to expand...

Research Portal

ub-ir.bolton.ac.uk ub-ir.bolton.ac.uk
.
 
Last edited:
Using the methodology of autoethnography, I have acted as both the researcher and participant to explore the landscape within which I developed this framework, and the key factors in bringing this work to an international audience of millions of people.
Click to expand...
And with that, the PhD qualification and university qualifications in general take another step towards complete irrelevance.
 
I'm not surprised that Alex Howard's chosen subject is himself and his wondrousness. But I am surprised that any university would be willing to award a PhD for this.

Given my significant international contributions to knowledge and practice in both the clinical field, online learning, and professional training, I believe that I meet the standard required for a PhD by Professional Practice.
Click to expand...

Another key ingredient in my success has undoubtedly been a relentless and tireless work ethic. I have worked long, focused, and intense hours for over two decades. I hate wasting time and have worked consistently to build resources and teams around me that allow me to maximise my impact and output...I am very fortunate to have a brain that responds well to constant task switching, and if anything, I feel more energised by the variety and diversity of my working life.
Click to expand...

6.5 Contributions to knowledge.
I consider my contributions to knowledge to be significant and far-reaching. As outlined in Chapter 3, these began with my focus on developing effective interventions for fatigue related conditions. In this thesis, I have focused on the development and application of psychology approaches, but it is worth noting that my overall impact upon the wider field of integrative medicine and trailblazing a truly integrative mindbody healing approach has been significant.
Click to expand...

To summarise some of the statistics of my various projects:
- My online Super Conference series (including events on trauma, fatigue, sleep, anxiety, relationships, hormones, and psychedelics) have beenattended by over 2 million people in over 100 countries.
- The RESET Program, which sells for $497 has had over 7,000 students, generating over $3.5m in revenue, and continues to have around 1,500 new students each year.
- The Optimum Health Clinic has had over 10,000 patients in the last 21 years. Its team of 25 practitioners currently has over 1,000 active patients in 50+ countries.
- The TC practitioner training program currently has around 500 active students in 20 countries.
- My three books have been translated into nine languages.
- My personal YouTube channel has had over 3 million views and currently has around 100,00 views a month. This is in addition to Conscious Life and OHC’s YouTube channels, which collectively have a further 13 million views.
- My social media following on my personal channels is currently over half a million (again not including my other projects) and includes Facebook (200,000), TikTok (190,000), Instagram (70,000) and YouTube (50,000). The collective views on these channels are in the tens of millions, with my top three videos on TikTok alone having a combined 10 million views.

It is crucially important that I reiterate the invaluable role that many of my colleagues have played over the last twenty-two years in helping me achieve all of this. Much of it would not have been possible without them. However, I have been driving the force behind all of this, both in terms of creative ideas, and leading on the execution, and I believe that my achievements meet the required level to be awarded a PhD by Professional Practice.
Click to expand...

He presents one case study. It is about Paul, whose daughter took her own life 4 months previously, and is "struggling with regular suicidal ideation" and "paralysed by his grief".
Due to the filming constraints of the series, I had only eight sessions to work with Paul...In a particularly dramatic part of Paul’s therapeutic work, I decided to take him outside of the therapy room and do some emotional processing work in the private woods... I applied significant pressure on Paul for him to start feeling his emotions. Initially, Paul resisted this pressure, but we eventually had a powerful breakthrough where he was able to fully feel his grief for the first time. I have not seen such raw and real therapeutic moments caught on camera before. For the final session, Paul and I visited his mother’s grave, and I invited him to read both her and his daughter [name] a letter I had asked him to write.
Click to expand...

The case study ends there. There is no detail about how Paul is doing. There is no reflection on the ethics of allowing filming constraints to dictate the number of sessions. There is no reflection on whether applying significant pressure on someone like Paul while being filmed is what is best for Paul.
 
I don't like his term "fatigue related conditions", which he uses to refer to ME/CFS, post-viral fatigue syndrome, long-COVID, Lyme disease "and so on". First, it makes no sense. The conditions are not related to fatigue. They are fatiguing. Second, there should be a hyphen between fatigue and related.

Having skimmed through the 110 pages, the highlight is a couple of paragraphs on Wilshire et al. 2018 which ends:
Put another way, what was claimed as ‘recovered’ was at best modest improvement, and at worst merely a change in their perception of symptoms. They conclude, “The modest treatment effects do not exceed what could be reasonably accounted for by participant reporting biases.” Kindlon goes a step further, saying “One cannot conclude that these interventions are safe and risk-free” (Kindlon, 2017).
Click to expand...

However, there is no reflection on what this might mean for OHC outcomes.
Chapter 3. My development of effective clinical services.
Click to expand...
No to full stops at the end of headings.
 
Last edited:
Trish said:
All that without a single clinical trial to find out whether his therapeutic coaching actually does any good, or harm. I'm appalled that a sales pitch for a business gets a PhD.
Click to expand...
Well... I had to check which department given business-wise then it is still has ethical issues but the focus could have been merely on the 'but can you sell it' element

given it is a psychology department this raises huge questions
 
@Evergreen quoted Alex Howard:

- The RESET Program, which sells for $497 has had over 7,000 students, generating over $3.5m in revenue, and continues to have around 1,500 new students each year.
Click to expand...

Well yes, we get the picture. Alex Howard (like Phil Parker) has a number of companies that sell NLP-based 'ME recovery' courses. But Alex calls ME 'ME/chronic fatigue' or 'a fatigue condition'.

Companies House registration of Alex Howard's Directorships, past and present.
https://find-and-update.company-inf...cers/VeYil7QMSdqLRNdVRyFYQVAGQxM/appointments
.
 
Last edited:
Evergreen said:
That's a really sad state of affairs. People like Carolyn Wilshire and Brian Hughes demonstrate that the field can produce excellent thinkers doing quality work, but devaluing psychology PhDs in this way does nobody any favours.
Click to expand...
By his own boasts, the dude made millions with his pop psychology influencer business. This is a selling point for people who want to go in the health influencer business: get a psych degree. The diploma mills love this. Youtube and other influencer platforms love this. And by his own definition, this is really is a degree in wellness influencing. Psychology is a potentially valuable discipline that has been held back by decades of dysfunction, and it's now become a parody of itself.

It's very annoying how little real knowledge it has built, but looking at what LLMs are showing about how they operate, this break with the past will be especially hard. I see very little different between biological human psychology and what machine intelligence is showing, so a complete reset is bound to happen, because machine intelligence will build the first true foundations of a scientific discipline of psychology.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom