Burris Connect: The Ultimate Mental Health EHR

If the objective in mental health is to get back to normal and not to manage, modify or cope with an aberrant thought, emotion and behavior one must fully understand if there is progression, regression or no change. Therefore, the default in Functional Emotional Fitness™ (mental health) is the measurement of emotional and gut health NOT medication. We feel the practitioner and client must measure and track all emotional parameters driving the behavior they are addressing. This is exactly what is required of coaches at Burris Connect.

Burris Connect is cloud-based software used by coaches certified in the Functional Emotional Fitness™ Process. The purpose of this software is not just to measure the emotional and gut health but to put them through a process that will improve their numbers at every session. The software is set up, so the client and coach can see a color-coded representation of before and after outcomes. Green represents an improvement; clear represents no improvement and pink represents a regression.  

The client is the one who scores themselves across a 22-Point three instrument Functional Emotional Fitness™ Checklist. Once this checklist is saved, it cannot be altered by coach or client. The Gut Health Checklist in Step 6 of the Food and Fitness Planner is also a 22-Point three instrument checklist but unless the coach is a Functional Medicine Practitioner the client is referred out if there are any numbers a 5 or higher. 

The uniqueness of this cloud-based software and the coaches trained to use it does not end with simply improving 17 of the most debilitating mental health issues it does this without meds, labels or personal history. This means that an individual seeking help does not even have to reveal their real name. In the unlikely event that this secure cloud-based software is ever hacked no personal information would be revealed. 

70 Adults, Teens, and Military Demographics Across 17 Issues

Targeted Issues Measured and Improved

  1. Depression   
  2. Anxiety   
  3. Negative Self-Talk (Guilt)
  4. Anger   
  5. Sleep   
  6. Hopelessness   
  7. Self-Esteem   
  8. Eating Behavior   
  9. Decision Making   
  10. Hatred (Self-Others)   
  11. Suicidal Ideation   
  12. Love (The Emotional State)   
  13. Self-Confidence   
  14. Motivation and Focus 
  15. Communication 
  16. Relationship Satisfaction   
  17. Stress

Defining Normal

Astounding as it may seem there is not a clear definition of normal in mental health and without this definition one must ask what the objective is. A clear objective must be established at the very beginning, and this is why the foundation of Functional Emotional Fitness™ is a clear definition of normal. This cannot be more clearly stated then with the outcomes presented here representing civilian, military, and teen demographics.

The Synergistic Trifecta of Gut Health

When I refer to the synergistic trifecta of gut health, I am referring to the gut microbiota, mucosa, and stem cells. This is the foundational infrastructure for a healthy gut which I thoroughly address in the book, “Functional Emotional Fitness™.”

The Human Microbiome Project was initiated in 2008 with one hundred fifteen million dollars from NIH. This research along with personal experience added gut health as a significant part of the Functional Emotional Fitness™ equation. Every day more and more autoimmune diseases such as lupus, multiple sclerosis and even Parkinson’s and dementia are being linked to gut health. Even though Burris Institute recognizes this broad spectrum of implications, the primary objective of Burris Institute is how gut health affects thought, emotion, and behavior and it is dramatic.

The Most Important Question for Your Functional Emotional Fitness™ (Mental Health) Practitioner

The single most important question to ask your practitioner is “Can you show me outcomes of previous clients?” If they state that this would intrude on a client’s privacy, simply remind them you do not want any personal information. All you wish to look at is the data generated regarding the issues that were addressed. As with any data you always want to ask what was measured, why it was measured and how the outcomes were generated?

Following are profiles of the Certified Burris Coaches who participated in this data collection. All Certified Burris Coaches are required to follow our data protocol if the client finds them through BurrisConnect.com.

Beau Chatham, CPT, MBC: Military Population

As a former college athlete, 3-time TBI survivor, Airborne Ranger, and medical industry educator, Beau Chatham brings a unique perspective to the treatment of today's combat veterans.

In 2004, Beau took an inventory of his "personal rucksack," after reading Dr. Charles Hoge's groundbreaking study published in the New England Journal of Medicine highlighting the staggering rates of PTSD and TBI in our combat forces engaged in the war on terror. He realized that the solutions being offered were ineffective.  This was evidenced by the skyrocketing suicide rate of our service members. Having spent the prior 12 years articulating disease states to patients and physicians and being "fluent in speaking Infantry," he began sketching an outline of what he had learned in his transition out of the military.

He learned early as a civilian that evidence-based methodologies offered the best means of providing a reasonable and predictable result in therapeutic approaches. As a former military leader and trainer, he also understood that warriors excel with processes and procedures that they can learn quickly through demonstration and rehearsal. These were the guiding principles that led him to find Kelly Burris, Ph.D.

In 2009, Beau established Warrior Life Coach®, an executive coaching practice, to offer transitioning combat veterans an alternative solution to the challenges they faced in a post-combat world.  Since the beginning, Beau's clients have generated life-changing results using the coaching tools offered through Coach Training at The Burris Institute. To date, he boasts a 46% reduction in suicidal ideation, along with improvements in relationship satisfaction and improved overall emotional states in combat veterans diagnosed with PTSD/TBI. 

  • Beau's coaching practice currently serves individual military veterans and first responder clients in the Atlanta area.
  • He serves as the Peer Liaison at the SHARE Military Initiative at the Shepherd Center.
  • He is a current contributor to Vetlanta's (an Atlanta-based social club that fosters collaboration to support veteran-oriented initiatives) healthcare pillar.
  • He has provided his services to Cobb County Veterans Court, Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation, and the Family Warrior Weekend ( a Camp Twin Lakes retreat for military/veteran families affected by post 9-11 combat operations).

Liz Kahn, MA, MBC: Civilian Population

Though classically trained in counseling and forensic psychology, Liz Kahn calls herself the anti-therapist because she strictly follows the Burris Functional Emotional Fitness™ protocol of no labels, no meds, and no personal history when working with her clients. Just like everyone else, Liz was trained over a 12-hour period and prefers to use this method over her six years of education in psychology.  There is one simple reason for this: through all of her training, the Functional Emotional Fitness™ protocols are the only tools that provide clear and measurable outcomes.  Measurable outcomes are an emphatically clear way of saying: she KNOWS when her clients are making progress toward their objectives and how to support them if progress slows.  Liz wants everyone to know there is an easy way to relieve anguish in life.  Just ask her

Karl Monger, MBC: Military Population

Karl is a veteran US Army officer, having commanded an infantry company and served as a Ranger battalion personnel and assistant operations officer.  He has also led a Big Brothers Big Sisters agency and held leadership positions in construction equipment companies. 

In 2010, he founded the nonprofit GallantFew, Inc., an organization focused on helping veterans transition from the military to civilian lives full of purpose and hope.  GallantFew's STAR system Self-Training and Response-ability helps veterans focus on five Functional Fitness areas: Physical, Social, Professional, Spiritual and Emotional.  Burris Functional Emotional Fitness provides the foundation for GallantFew's Emotional Fitness program.  Karl believes in it because it provides an intentional, measurable process for identifying objectives and provides concrete methods for obtaining those objectives.  He works with both active duty military and veterans (from any branch of the service).

A veteran who reluctantly took coaching later wrote:  "I wanted you to know that I was pessimistic about this call today, but to be honest that was more helpful and insightful than all those years of counseling at the VA."

Visit www.gallantfew.org to learn more.

Lana Kerr, MBC: Ages 9 – 17

Lana Kerr is the Founder and President of TLK Wellness Inc. Your Fat Loss Coach. She has been in the Wellness Industry for over 14 years. She is a student of Holistic health and is currently pursuing a Master's of Science to then further to a Doctorate Program. Lana is a Nutritional Consultant and earned a Master Burris Certification

She is married and the mother of 2 children. Her passion is helping her clients to achieve optimal health and thoroughly enjoys the transformations that she witnesses very quickly with them. She is amazed at how clients become more confident and thus become better people. Her secret to success is her ability to create and maintain long-term relationships.

This treatment has transformed her life. Though she has exercised her whole life, nothing has proven to be more effective for her. She absolutely enjoys helping others do the same.

Conclusion

Regardless of the modality used in Emotional Fitness™ (mental health) the fundamental question is “does it work?” You can only know if it works by measuring and tracking the client's progress at every session.

About Kelly Burris, PhD, MBC

Kelly Burris has defined ‘Normal’ in an industry, which only defines broken or disordered. He is the developer of the empirically sound Functional Emotional Fitness™ process and founder of Burris Institute. With over 150 medical references Functional Emotional Fitness™ represents a scientific breakthrough in mental health and it has done this without meds, labels or personal history.

As part of the Burris, ecosystem coaches can manage, track and interact with current and future clients after certification on BurrisConnect.com. This same ecosystem enables corporate, military, and educational entities to supervise and monitor the performance of their internal Functional Emotional Fitness™ (mental health) infrastructure in the cloud. 

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Mental Health
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