LAWRENCE M. BRAMLETTE, Ph.D. - Houston, Texas

WL

Dr. Bramlette is the best therapist I've used out of several tried over a decade. I believe the reasons are as follows:

1) Strong intellectual background in evidence-based research, particularly in Cognitive Behavioral Theory. He has a respectable PhD, and has taught courses in psychology as a university professor. By contrast, when I previously used therapists with a less sophisticated or extensive grasp of theory, the style of therapy tended to be more undirected and less helpful in terms of orienting me toward productive questions and answers.

2) Adeptness at applying his theoretical knowledge to the treatment particulars of a client's situation. All too many people pass through educational programs to become psychologists by rote memorization of textbook materials, without having the capability to connect the abstract theories to the pragmatic issues of what you're doing, what results you're getting from what you're doing, and how the results could be different if you changed the causes that you're contributing through your present actions. Dr. Bramlette's intensely pragmatic treatment orientation ends up being the most helpful and compassionate, in my experience, because it is the most truly empowering to the client (much more than a therapist taking the easy way of playing a "rent a friend" role for an hour, by listening too passively or ingratiating the client to themselves by only reflecting what they want to hear - these are behaviors which are more likely to occur when a therapist lacks the intellectual and clinical skills to help someone and therefore needs to instead sell themselves, as a desirable social experience, instead of providing real treatment).

3) Exceptional "bedside manner." While having a pragmatic and empowering focus that is backed by strong intellectual understanding and a pragmatic counseling orientation is important, the above wouldn't be nearly as effective without Dr. Bramlette's skill in putting you into a frame of mind that is open, receptive, and motivated to make changes in whatever behavior you're doing that isn't serving you well, in terms of your mental or emotional health. It's one thing to be able to help someone understand what they could do to improve their life, but another thing entirely to be able to communicate in such a way that they're inspired to actually do it. This isn't a skill of manipulation but a skill of connection (a combination of talent in empathy, insight, and communication).

Finally, it should be known that Dr. Bramlette did not ask me to write this recommendation: I've written it unasked because I'm grateful for his skill and dedication, as a relative rarity in my opinion among clinical psychologists who are worth the investment of time and trust, and because I'd like others to benefit from his services as I have in dealing with both personal, family, and childhood challenges as well as professional challenges.

Love-a-bye