Kelly Burris PhD's blog

Empirically sound and measurable outcomes in Emotional Health (mental health) are terms rarely used together because there are no standards of measurement as there are in Functional Emotional Fitness™. We established a measurable outcome protocol in 1990 and have refined it down to a 22 point three instrument checklist. This is how we know it is empirically sound because we have been collecting data for twenty-five years.

Ask anyone to define normal and they will reference behavior. Attempting to define normal based on behavior cannot be done because it is inevitability a subjective assessment by a third party, in other words, an opinion. Opinions do not become more legitimate with seven or ten years of education, it is still, just an opinion.

A 2008 study released from Rand called “Invisible Wounds of War” addressed the issue of PTSD, major depression and the rising suicide rate in the military. Burris Institute and its Functional Emotional Fitness™ process have been compliant with the recommendations of the Rand study for over a decade.  An overview of how Burris Emotional Wellness and the SR™ process now exceed Rand recommendations can be found in the Evidence-Based section of the Burris  Institute website.

Ask anyone to define normal and they will reference behavior. Normal cannot be determined via behavior but it can be determined via emotion, which is the driver for behavior. When making an observational subjective assessment as is done with children and ADHD one is bypassing the driver of the behavior or the root cause. The term observational subjective assessment in translation simple means one is guessing because there is a void of any meaningful data.

Even the most ambiguous definition of a thought process cannot be misconstrued as an illness or disease yet this is exactly what has been done by big pharma in order to get approximately ten percent of the population in the US over the age of six on antidepressants.

Despite the fact, antidepressants can cause depression, suicidality, myocardial infarction (sudden death) along with over a thousand other contraindications including severe withdraw symptoms they continue to be one of the most prescribed drugs in America.  

Burris Institute and its Functional Emotional Fitness™ process have produced measurable outcomes for PTSD, depression, eating disorders and many other emotional health issues since its introduction into psychiatric care in 1990.

Emotion drives behavior and people seek out coaches, counselors, psychotherapists, and psychiatrists because they want to feel better. Replacing the broad generic terms of mental health & mental illness to the focused, solution-based terms of “Emotional Health and Emotional Fitness” is the absolute first step to mental health reform. This goes beyond stigma or political correctness. There are key reasons for this change, which will ultimately shape all reform put into place.

The current buzzword in mental health is measurable outcomes yet very few if any in mental health or coaching produce measurable outcomes. The question to everyone in the business of mental health or coaching is, “What is the reason for not producing measurable outcomes for your clients?” Every Certified Burris Coach is required not just to produce a measurable outcome but measurable improvement across a three-instrument twenty-two point checklist in order to complete their certification.

Everything you have ever seen, heard, felt, tasted or smelled since your first breath is stored in your subconscious. The subconscious uses this information to determine how you will emotionally respond to your world. How well you remember anything is determined by the emotional impact at the time of the event. The result may not be as significant as post-traumatic stress but it can still have an impact, which can ultimately bring about an unwanted behavior.

Females under age 30 who are not under 15% body fat, are not involved in drugs or alcohol and are still functioning normally at school or work have consistently taken control of their eating disorder with the Functional Emotional Fitness™ Process in two two-hour sessions.