Auto Process Therapy is a direct application of Buddhism to counseling. APT uses a combination of mindfulness, behavioral coping strategies, and insight building in a systematic way. The goal of APT is to lead a client to have recognition of their essential core nature. By doing so the client can gain access to reserves of wisdom and inner peace that are inherent, but often hidden, within the human spirit. For this reason APT is a positive approach to counseling that assumes that people are healthy to begin with. All that is required is to remove destructive habits that are rooted in false beliefs of lack, sickness, and hopelessness. APT combines group and individual therapy to support universality while address issues that are specific to each client.
Brian Ford is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the creator of Auto Process Therapy. Brian has been a student of Buddhism, Aikido, yoga, and comparative religions for over two decades. He works with children and families in a variety of clinical settings and is trained in the Triple P (Positive Parenting Program) approach to childrearing. He has a background in substance abuse counseling and he leads APT groups with Native American men in a recovery setting in Manteca, CA. His psychotherapy book, Auto Process Therapy: A Therapeutic Application of Buddhist Psychology is currently in development.