These conclusions should be read in conjunction with the sections set out in my blog. Please note that I am happy for non commercial organisations and charities to quote this in full or in part, on the understanding that they include a link to the blog to allow the context to be considered.
I consider my 2005 review of the Linden Method to have been impartial. I see no reason to change it in any detail unless I am provided with new information
Charles Linden has made a number of attempts to rebut the review; none have, in my opinion, come anywhere near the mark.
Let me remind you of “the nine pillars”, apparently central to the Linden Method.
Stop visiting your doctor (and other doctors too)
Talk to your doctor about stopping the medication (confusingly as you are not supposed to visit them)
Stop looking for answers to your problems elsewhere
Only use the Linden method
Stop talking to other people about how you feel (except the [clinically unqualified] linden support staff)
Stop relying on other people for help with your feelings (which follows from not talking to them presumably)
Get rid of memories about your problem
Keep busy as a diversion (distraction)
Don’t allow anxiety to change what you do.
Apart from the last one, these are plain silly.
Since that review was published, there has been a massive increase in the Linden Method’s web presence, utilising a wide range of web sales techniques. These include the citation of “experts” and the recruitment of “science”, and making claims about research; none of these withstand scrutiny, as detailed in my blog.
https://psychonoclast.wordpress.com/
The marketing has drawn heavily on the authority of a range of organisations, including the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, the British Psychological Society, the National Health Service and the National Institute of Health. Again these claims do not withstand scrutiny, and in some cases appear to be misrepresentations of these organisations, for example the accreditation procedures of the BACP and BPS. In addition to Linden himself, the people who are being misrepresented with such accreditation have a personal ethical and professional responsibility to prevent this; I am surprised at their tacit acceptance of this unethical practice.
There is also the matter of “The Linden Foundation”, which given its appearance as something like a charity, has the potential to mislead.
The marketing on the web also draws very heavily indeed on the Persona of Charles Linden portraying him as a compassionate family man. I was surprised to see his use of photographs of his family including children as part of his marketing efforts. His persona when dealing with reviews such as those appearing on amazon and on a range of web boards run by people with personal experience of anxiety is much less benign. He seems to enjoy using the reflected glory of celebrities a great deal.
Then there is the Money; apparently a lot of it, if the numbers are to be believed. In the original review I suggested that too much was being asked for too little. That’s before we consider the “retreats”, something for the rich; prices are not given, but one source suggests £2700 in 2009! Perhaps better to have some reasonably priced advances than expensive retreats?
As for being original and effective, as far as I can judge it is still true that what is original in the Linden Method is not effective and what is effective is not original.
My recommendation? Don’t waste your money. To quote Charles Linden/Lyndon Charles Griffiths himself says something interesting on
“It is so easy to set up in business, knock together a ‘product’, join Clickbank and be selling snake oil in minutes using bold claims and fabricated credentials.”
Well said Charles, well said.
[…] https://psychonoclast.wordpress.com/2014/05/13/the-lindn-method-paul-salkovskis-up-to-date-conclusio…. […]
I had never heard of TLM but his page popped up in my FB feed as it had been liked by a friend. My daughter suffers greatly with health anxiety due to epilepsy. I provided my e-mail address and watched the sixteen minutes or so of Charles Lindens sales pitch. No price was quoted, I commented on FB asking for a price. Admittedly, my post probably did come across as a little sceptical, because quite frankly, I was! My post was removed and a very unprofessional, defensive and accusatory e- mail was sent to me from Charles Linden. My subsequent e-mail to Charles, asking for some answers and letting him know how shocked and disgusted I was by his accusations, has of course, gone unanswered! Instead I was sent an e-mail telling me all about anxiety with the promise of a further e-mail the next day about low mood! I have since done some research and discovered exactly what I thought I would about Charles Linden and his unsupported claims and mistruths. I have e-mailed Charles again, expressing my disappointment in his unprofessional attitude, and have asked him to stop the unsolicited e-mails. I would advise anyone who is considering using TLM to thoroughly investigate and research Charles Linden and his team to get the bigger picture before handing over any hard earned cash!
Many thanks, useful to know. It would just be a bit sad really, were it not that it can impact on people who are desperate and who, in my experience will do and pay anything to get the right help. That takes it, of course, a long way beyond sad. Paul
I am one of these sad people. I’m an idiot. Can’t believe I fell for this, but I was in a bad, bad way when I ordered it. Money doesn’t seem important during a crisis, but it sure does the day after a crisis… I am trying to a refund.
You are not an idiot. One of the reasons I wrote these blogs was because I’m aware of how desperate people get, and they will clutch at straws.
Thank you for the blog. It was eye opening.
Hi, I too have stumbled across Charles Linden in a sponsored facebook Ad, and I was fascinated straight away. I have decided to write an expose on the man and his business and would like to borrow heavily from this blog (with full credit given to yourself of course). I am not a psychologist and do not carry any qualifications that would render my opinion on his works for valid in any argument, however you clearly do. This is relevant in matters such as his clinical trial claims when someone without psychology qualifications would not be able to spot the errors in his webpage literature. Would you be able to email me please Professor Salkovskis? I’ve had direct contact with Mr Linden though he refused to verify any of his claims and blocked me 🙂
Hi Joanne
haven’t approved this comment because I don’t know if you want it to be seen…I’m pretty sure that Mr Whatever his name monitors it quite carefully.
As you can probably see, it can be tricky, and I just want to make sure that you are aware that he has sent the police round twice to me (without any ill effects) and can be pretty nasty..dont want to open you to that if you are not aware that it might happen. Happy to email…my email is pms33@bath.ac.uk I’m in Australia at the moment at a conference, but picking up regularly.
I am entirely happy for you to draw on the webpage…but please be careful, it is I think much easier for me to defend myself than for some others, which is one of the reasons that I took this up in the first place
wbw
paul
Joanne, I would like to have a discussion with you as I have similar experiences. If you use twitter, you can pm me on there @DrDJWilde.
Hi Joanne
I too have had visits off the Police from Griffiths and I’m currently in conversation with an MP regarding his orginisation, to which, said MP has written to me, concerned about his claims.
I also have evidence of his bullying on a forum in private messages.
My email is jaco45er@yahoo.com if you need further information
Regards,
Steve
I’m glad I found your blog- the “Linden method” came up on my Facebook as an advert and when I suggested that CBT can help with anxiety Linden immediately said it couldn’t and further went on to say I didn’t know what I was talking about then deleted my response about evidence based therapies! His aggressive manor suggests he is anything but a professional therapist and comes across as more of a narcissist and snake oil salesman. There may be something in his “method” but his marketing style is all hype and no content and he’s been in trouble with advertising standards before for deceptive advertising.
Ive suffered mildly from anxiety for sometime, and have been lookimg for help. I came across the linden method and decided to research. Oh my goodness, avoid this like the plague. It is obviously a complete money making scam, preying on the most vulnerable members of society.
This man hijacks negative googlesearch phrases, creates fake forums and websites, and consistently hides the truth. look at his facebook page. See the number of comments left after videos, and then see how many are visible.. he hides anything negative. The man has absolutely no qualifications, and numerous pseudonyms. The man is obviously a very good salesman, and little else.
After the death of my best friend I got severe panic attacks and agoraphobia. Couldn’t leave my house. Got the program put it into action and my anxiety left. Silly or not, I don’t care if a purple kangaroo got rid of my anxiety only that it’s gone. It’s sad to think your article might stop someone from giving it a try. If I didn’t find it I have no doubt I would be 50 times worse than I was. Also a friends 12 year old who had 3 to 4 panic attacks a day did the program with the same result. I don’t understand how to program can be wrong if it stopped my anxiety… makes no sense!
Glad to hear it Amanda and delighted that you aren your friend’s 12 year old both found it helpful. Please read carefully what I have said; I’m not saying that “the programme is wrong”, but am drawing attention some important issues.
And here he is again. He is moronic enough to think that people dont realise its him replying as various different “characters” hes created. Charles, when people write its as recognisable as a persons voice, there is a rythym, a style, and with your writing a certain manic quality that is instantly recognisable. I dont even have a huge issue with your programme, im sure, much like herbal medication, some find it comforting. Its you, and your obsession with shutting down anyone who says anything negative about your cult.. sorry.. treatment that i find truly disturbing.
Daniel
I am embarrassed to say I fell for all the claims made about the Linden method. I received an email supposedly from Charles Linden himself saying that there was no risk as i would get my money back if it didn’t work so I stupidly went ahead thinking it was worth a try. Most of the material on the programme is Charles Linden criticising other methods and nothing is written down . You have to watch endless videos to find the relevant information. The only plus is that there is a number you can call and I have to say that i always managed to speak to someone. Despite this my anxiety remains unchanged. I tried to claim my money back but was told that the money back guarantee no longer exists and that it must have been sent in error and it was not part of the erms and conditions when i signed up. I don’t believe it happened by mistake , I believe it to be a disgusting ploy to take advantage of vulnerable people. I have reported this and am awaiting a reply.
Hi Cat. Are you able to email me please regarding a question someone has asked me? Paul.salkovskis@hmc.ox.ac.uk Thanks Paul
Hi Charles, sorry I mean Amanda,
What about frredom of speech? People have a ‘right’ to express their viees about a product or service. People give views about restaurants or clothes stores, why not unregulated, unevidenced supposed anxiety interventions?
You said the article may stop someone from purchasing TLM, well from what I know I think this would be a good thing.
At the end of the day it’s all about choice. If someone purchases TLM, that’s up to them, fine. But they should be aware of positive and negative reviews, unless you think negative reviews should be vanished (thankfully they’re not and they’re here to stay)?
I think people get irritated by the ‘misleading claims’ e.g. that TLM has successfully treated over 215,000, where’s the evidence? And on TLM website and on social media, CL claims that there is an anxiety switch in the brain that TLM switches off ‘at the flick of a switch’. Not only is there zero evidence to support this, there isn’t any health professional (qualified) that agrees with this, do you not think this is a bit strange? Also, CL often rubbishes free, effective NHS therapies, do you not think that is unethical? That could stop someone from getting the intervention which best meets their emotional and therapeutic needs.
Always good to have open, honest debate in my opinion 🙂
All the best 🙂
Warmest,
Alethea x
You know nothing unless you have attached Charles.Lindens retreat in the UK.
I presume from your post which leaves out a very large amount of information that you have not.
Also have all the facts, which you don’t appear to have before broadcasting a nonsense opinion. Get real!
Thank you Geoff. I’ve not been on Charles’ Retreat, but then I’m not really sure why I should? I have had access to the programme itself and as you will see from the various posts examined the claims made very carefully. I have also been contacted by a range of people who have not benefitted from the method. I would be very happy for you to send me details of any neglected facts; as far as I know I have a pretty comprehensive understanding of what’s out there. Therefore I’m afraid I will have to disagree with the idea that I “know nothing”. I have a decent grasp of anxiety and the evidence on factors involved and its treatment. Thanks anyway for commenting! I wish you well.
I’m so thankful for finding this article. I have bipolar and am awaiting an ecg before I can be started on medication. Cbt has been very helpful for me in the past. Anyone who advises against seeing qualified medical professionals and evidence based therapies is dangerous in my opinion. In one of my hypomanic states I was tempted by the Facebook ad, but thank God I found your page when I googled for reviews
A note to the sock puppets trying to attack. I only approve comments where I can verify the identity of the poster.
? I’m not a sock puppet or trying to attack anyone.
Thanks Keely I know. There were a few replies to your comment (which I have blocked) from unidentifiable characters. One was rude to you all were praising the linden method with recognisable phrases such as “the LM saved my life”. Thanks for commenting and sorry if my response was a surprise!!! Definitely not directed at you!
I purchased The Linden Method method this past summer. I had OCD and had helped myself with a Mindfulness for OCD book. I got the Method because I had a little bit of anxiety left. I regret buying it because in the videos on the Method he says no other therapies work. He puts down therapist, CBT, Hypnosis,Exposure Response Prevention, Talking Therapy, Mindfulness, and Meditation. This upset me in such a way I became completely hopeless for some reason. I feel like he lies about having not used other therapies himself in his past. I am heartbroken because I had to take a leave of absence from work for the first time in my life. This Method has hurt me so badly and I don’t know why he had to put all other therapies down if his way is so good. Hopefully, I can get better from this experience with the Method. Still struggling.
This is still going on and it has to stop! Vulnerable people are at risk. Recently I found myself in a bad place with anxiety and insomnia and against my better judgement without any research I bought the online resources for the Linden Method (amazing what sleep deprivation will make you do!) I mean they claim to have 100% success rate – what did I have to lose, right – other than £159? Within a short time of gaining access to the resources, little red flags started going up. It was like listening to a second-hand car dealer. When he started banging on about “compliance” I knew I was scammed. I’m trying to get my money back from PayPal. I’m glad to say since then I’ve found some great FREE resources online and some books written by real DOCTORS on Amazon that really helped. I’m sleeping again and working on my anxiety through Mindfulness. Thank goodness I didn’t keep Pillar # whatever which tells you not to look at other methods, lest they might help you! The Linden Method is a money-making scheme. It might help some people but it actually hinders the recovery of others, until they find the right help! I’m going to get my money back one way or another and will make sure to spread the word online so other people don’t get scammed. The reason you know it’s a scam is because he doesn’t offer a trial period or a money back guarantee. You simply don’t know what you’re buying!