Treatment proceeds by the talking cure. You come and talk frankly. You are invited to speak about what ever you want to speak about, in free association. This freedom means that the important things inside you, the things that are trying to be heard, which are troubling you inside, will sooner or later come out.

And slowly they do. In this way, we have a second chance to look at this material, to wipe out the mistakes of the past and to write new software in its place. Slowly a new person can be built and the psychological damage of a life can be repaired. This is the classical talking cure of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy.

My own contribution to this method is that as the patient speaks, I write down his or her discourse, word for word, quickly and in pencil. If I, the doctor, speak, this too is jotted. At the next session, we read out aloud the previous session. This writing cure has the following new effects.

1. The patient is quickly aware that what he is saying will come back to him or her. So he cannot waffle, talk stupidly! His words are taken very seriously, written down word for word by his doctor, understood by him and re read again.
2. This makes the patient choose his words. To say the most apt and true words, that reflect his inner psychological state. This choosing of the right words in itself has a great healing effect.
3. This hearing again of your own words has a soothing effect on the traumatic incident being recounted. It doubles the therapeutic effect of the talking cure alone. By this method it is possible to completely wipe out or repair any traumatic emotional incident from the past.
4. By choosing and writing the right NEW words in the treatment sessions, it is possible to fill in certain gaps. It is possible to say and include things in the psychological software that were not said or included the first time round (“Mother, what I needed you to say to me was…”)
5. Hearing his own words, the patient will soon see that he is stuck, that he is repeating some things about himself. Being stuck in certain self-serving positions is what causes most of our problems (“my parents did not do enough for me”, “people are jealous of me”...). The writing cure helps the patient to gain perspective on and go beyond these blockages of self deception. He comes to see he is wasting his time, repeating himself, being stuck in preoccupations in the past.
6. The written record of the analysis allows patient and doctor to go backwards and forward to certain important passages, make sense of them, examine them, shift them, rewrite them.
7. Using the writing cure, I have perfected certain techniques and instruments which I cannot divulge here. They allow the process to be speeded up and to be conducted at a distance, from home.
I learned this new method by trial and error and by playing with children. It has served me well. I will soon publish my theories and my results.

Once you have agreed on a treatment plan, ideally sessions are held at least once a week to understand the problem and to get to know each other. This can also be done by telephone, Skype or Facetime. Once you have agreed on a course of treatment it is best to see each other twice a week whenever possible. At only once a week, we do not have the time to go beyond the difficulties of everyday life, which ask to be heard first. Also, you must follow the agreed calendar. You cannot come and go as you please. Missed sessions are owed. These rules are necessary for the patient to take the treatment seriously. And not shirk away when the going gets tough, when certain unpleasant things have to be faced.

It is not a magical cure. A certain amount of work has to be done. You need to cooperate and start this work for a while. You will then be able to see for yourself that you are on the right path, that this is the right method for you. You will feel a small but perceptible improvement after each session. If you do not feel this change, you may decide that this is not the method for you and you can stop. If you are looking for a guarantee, this is it: if you do not feel the beneficial effects and are not convinced after a short period of cooperation, you can stop.

How long it will take depends on the problems to be solved, the structure of the person concerned, what needs to be changed, how seriously you take this work, how often you come. A big change can happen very quickly, in a few weeks. Usually, there is no need for a long psychoanalysis lasting many years.

When a certain stage is reached, usually around 3 to 6 months, when things have shifted sufficiently inside you, then, without any effort or will power, you will be able to cut down on the food or the cigarettes. Already you will eat less, you will move more and so begin to lose weight. And even if you have not yet completely reached this stage, you will be able to see that you have changed immensely for the better and are on the road to recovery.