Merriam-Webster Dictionary – Rote: The use of memory, usually with little intelligence, (thought).
Mechanical or unthinking routine or repetition
Learned or memorized by ROTE!
What is Rote Therapy? This is an eclectic model I developed years ago while I was the head therapist at The Anxiety Control Center, in Yonkers, NY. Though it is extremely helpful in working with clients with anxiety, being that it is an eclectic model there are many components to it that affords the treatment of most problems a client might present.
So, what is Rote Therapy! Most of our behaviors are learned, many of which we don’t even realize. Basically we can say we are brainwashed from infancy… Most of us think of brainwashing in a political and very negative, harmful way, but let’s look at it in a common, every day way that doesn’t sound so ominous! We have babies and we “teach” them how to speak, eat, etc. How do you we do this?? By repeating the words, behaviors over and over again. We are washing the brain with POSITIVE thought, not even realizing it and it becomes, “learned behaviors”.
When my son was about 8 months old, I started taking him outside to wait for his father to come home from work, knowing exactly the time his train arrived I knew when to go out. I would get excited, point to his father and screech, “Daddy’s home, daddy’s home” About a month or 2 later, we were all sitting in the kitchen, with my son in his highchair, points to me and says, Mama, but then to his father and called him, “Daddy’s home”, thinking it was his father’s name. Well, after my husband and I had a great chuckle, I realized I had “brainwashed” my son into thinking this was his father’s name. It actually took some time to teach him that his father was really just, “daddy”! This was cute and easy to fix, but we don’t realize what we have picked up over the years that causes “subconscious havoc” on our brains. Constant screaming in the house, often being told you are stupid when very young, being blamed for things you didn’t do, and so on, and so on, and so on…….. Not so easy to fix.
SO!!! You see how someone might have ended up in counseling, let’s find an easier fix. ROTE THERAPY.
How did we learn the multiplication tables? By repeating them over and over again and using flash cards to imbed the thoughts and words in our minds, mentally and visually. I bet if someone asks you how much 6 x’s 8 is, now, you will automatically say, 48 without thinking or blinking an eye!
As I stated before, this is wonderful for anxiety, but some of the other components work incredibly well with many other issues that can cause us to seek help. Just a few, but not limited to; dealing with the elder population, guilt, chronically ill, relationships, phobias, low self-esteem and stress.
The moral to the story is, we are constantly learning by ”ROTE”!!!!!!
How does ROTE THERAPY work? Many of our behaviors that run us in negative ways are “learned behaviors”. We learned them through our process of life and we can replace them with positive learned behaviors, negating the things we have subconsciously picked up through life, allowing us to move forward in a more emotionally healthy way. I use the same basic tools for this process as we used to learn our multiplication tables, with daily exercises, and memorization techniques, creating positive thinking.
To learn more, schedule a free consultation!
Many clients have called me, years later to thank me, as they had a traumatic event happen to them, but was able to maintain that positive outlook by still using the tools I taught them!
To learn more, call (561) 220-3556 schedule a free 15 minute consultation!
Annalee Shein
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