On the day that you were born, you had all the inherent strength, goodness and wisdom that you would ever need. All you required were the skills to access them.
Laurel Mellin


You don’t have to be perfect to be wonderful.
Laurel Mellin


Topics that can be found on the “For Health Professionals” page:

• Who can provide Emotional Brain Training?
• Does Emotional Brain Training have anything in common with other theories and schools of psychology and psychotherapy?
• Where was it developed?
• About Laurel Mellin

It’s taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.




































To get the full value of joy you must have somebody to divide it with.
Mark Twain

EMOTIONAL BRAIN
TRAINING
(Emotional Brain Training is the new name for the Solution Method™)
What is Emotional Brain Training?

• It is a structured program that takes about 2 years to complete
• It is based on brain science
• It “rewires” the brain to be more resilient to stress, to move from a state of stress, to a state of well-being
• This rewiring means literally growing new neurons and new connections between neurons
• In a state of well-being, cravings and unwanted behaviors and mood states fade
• It gets to the emotional roots of overeating and other behaviors of excess
• It creates new neural circuits that support greater health and happiness
• It is a program that has been developed over a period of 30 years by Laurel Mellin, MA, RD, and is administered by the Institute for Health Solutions at the University of California San Francisco

You will still have a brain 2 years from now, why not have a better one? where ..

• you are free of cravings and drives for unhealthy foods - food is just food
• you let go of unwanted behaviors and moods
• you feel a high level of well-being most of the time
• you bounce back from stress fairly predictably
• you take better care of your health and feel more energy and vitality
• you experience more happiness, joy, and love

Does this sound too good to be true?

It may seem like the program works for so many different things that these claims are being exaggerated. However, unwanted behaviors, mood states, and relationship patterns all have something in common: they are responses to stress that aren’t really working.
In the best of all worlds, we would have the skills to nurture, comfort, and set limits for ourselves from within when life is stressful. If we don’t have these skills, we turn to what Emotional Brain Training calls “External Solutions” – external solutions to stress – such as overeating, numbing out with TV, drinking too much – to soothe or reward ourselves when feeling stressed. Chronic mood states and unhealthy relationship patterns are also viewed as external solutions.
Emotional Brain Training addresses the root causes of these problems – which lie in the emotional brain – and retrains the brain to be so resilient to stress that “external solutions” fade away.

Is this a stress management program?

Not at all! Emotional Brain Training is a unique, evidence-based program for retraining the brain. This emphasis on brain rewiring – which is the heart and soul of the program – distinguishes it from stress management programs.
One aspect of Emotional Brain Training is called “Mastery Living” and includes attention to common stress reducing measures, such as:

• healthy eating
• physical activity
• adequate sleep
• time to rest, restore, recharge your batteries
• time for connection with others

All of these are essential to your well being, and your health and happiness.

In addition ... the program teaches specific tools and techniques that are based on cutting edge neuroscience and are used with a lot of repetition to retrain the brain. You learn to assess your brain state using the 5 Point System, then use a technique that is appropriate to your state, and move your brain from a state of stress to a state of well-being. You can feel the difference!
The goal of the training is to live more moments of your day in a state of high level well-being, where you reap the rewards of human maturity: love, joy, authenticity, integrity, security, intimacy and connection. vibrancy, and spirituality, however you define it.

What do I do in Emotional Brain Training?

The heart of the training is working through six Kits. The Kits are workbooks (journals) that you write in. There are 12 chapters in each journal, and you do your best to do one per week.

• The Kits build upon each other sequentially
• Ideally, the training is done in groups, which meet for 12 weekly sessions, 90 minutes each. I offer these groups in person, and the Institute for Health Solutions offers these groups by telephone.

Why does it take so long?

• It takes as long as it does because you are literally growing new neural circuits, and that takes time and a lot of repetition.
• The old circuits have been around a long time – often since childhood – and are like deep ruts through the woods; the new circuits are new pathways that need a lot of practice so they don’t get overgrown and die out.
• The encouraging news is that the old circuits do start to fade as the new ones are strengthened.
• Soooo ... if your old neural pathways have been around for 10 or 20 or 30 years or more, it doesn’t take 10 or 20 or 30 years for the new circuits to become dominant. Looking at it that way, 2 years is pretty fast!

Does this brain training require some kind of equipment?

No! The “tools” that you learn are techniques and exercises you can do through writing, talking with someone, using the Institute’s website, or even just mentally talking yourself through the steps of using a tool.

How do I get started?

• attend a free informational meeting with me
• or - attend a free Orientation by phone through the Institute for Health Solutions
• browse the Institute’s website: www.solutionmethod.org

What is the next step?

Attend a Wired for Joy class, in person with me, or by phone through the Institute.

What is Wired for Joy?

Wired for Joy is a 4-week educational/experiential class designed to give you a taste of the method so that you can decide if you want to do the complete program, which consists of working through all six Kits.
You will learn the EBT 5 Point System for assessing your brain state, and you will learn 5 major tools of the method that you can start using right away to rewire your brain to feel more joy, balance, and well-being in the course of your day, even when you are having a stressful day.
It is required prior to joining an EBT Group.
What do I do after taking Wired for Joy?

You can then join an EBT Group. These are 12-week groups that support you as you work through the six Kits to complete and solidify your new neural networks.
EBT Groups have a structured format, and safety and confidentiality of group members are the highest priority.

Are groups the only way to do it?

• Most people find that groups are richly rewarding and support their progress, growth and motivation immeasurably.
• However, some people have circumstances that make it too difficult to join a group. There are other options, such as working on your own with the support and guidance of individual coaching.

What is the group size?

• In Wakefield: 4-8 members
• In Westerly: 4-6 members
• Telegroups through the Institute: 9 members

Any shortcuts?

No, sorry!
I want you to be an informed consumer. You should understand that ...

• it does take a commitment of time: some reading and writing a few times a week and short periods of practicing skills every day will optimize results
• if you quit before finishing all six Kits, your brain changes may not last
• rewiring the brain to a state of high level well-being does not mean you will never have stress. You will! But you will have tools and new neural circuits such that you bounce back much more quickly; your brain will be more resilient and you will spend far less time living in stress.

Most people who get started on the program get so much out of it in the first few months that they are committed to finishing.

On a personal note, I love doing EBT Groups! I have never had group experiences with as much laughter and warmth, as well as hard work, as I have had with EBT Groups.