The Lefkoe Method is a belief-elimination approach created by Morty Lefkoe in the mid-1980s. Its core Lefkoe Belief Process asks you to trace a limiting belief to its childhood sources, see it as one possible interpretation, and let it go. It is taught mainly through paid programmes, and only one small trial has been published. Start with our complete guide.
1 guide
The Lefkoe Method is a belief-elimination approach created by Morty Lefkoe in the mid-1980s. Its core Lefkoe Belief Process asks you to trace a limiting belief to its childhood sources, see it as one possible interpretation, and let it go. It is taught mainly through paid programmes, and only one small trial has been published.
This hub is the home on Self Help Supermarket for Lefkoe Process. Our complete guide explains the method, the evidence and its limits. As we check them, videos, podcasts, courses, books and practitioner directories for Lefkoe Process are added to this page.
This hub is for general information and self-education. It is not a replacement for medical or psychological care.
New to Lefkoe Process? Our complete guide covers the belief-elimination process step by step, a safe exercise, how it relates to CBT, EFT, the Sedona Method and Byron Katie, the honest evidence, risks and costs.
The Lefkoe Method is a belief-elimination approach created by Morty Lefkoe in the mid-1980s. Its core Lefkoe Belief Process asks you to trace a limiting belief to its…
Possibly for some specific fears, but the proof is thin. One randomised wait-list trial of fear of public speaking (36 people, one facilitator who was also an author) found large self-reported drops in fear (Cunningham, Lefkoe & Sechrest, 2006). We found no independent replication.
The big claims go further than the research. The Institute says beliefs are eliminated "permanently" and that the method is "proved effective" for depression and anxiety. No published trial tests that.
You will find the full evidence, with sources, in the complete guide.
Read our complete guide first. It explains Lefkoe Process step by step and says plainly what the evidence does and does not show.
Morty Lefkoe, an American businessman and author, developed it after leaving the est organisation and founded the Lefkoe Institute in California. He died in 2015, and his wife Shelly Lefkoe and daughter Blake continue the Institute. He was not, as far as we could find, a trained clinician.
We do not know. One small randomised trial of 36 people with fear of public speaking reported large self-rated improvements, but the founder delivered every session. Two other studies are unpublished. Nothing has replicated it independently, tested it against CBT or tested it for depression.
No. CBT usually challenges a thought's evidence and tests new behaviour, and it has a very large research base. The Lefkoe Method says it validates the belief as a reasonable childhood conclusion, then shows it to be an interpretation. It has no behavioural experiments. The two have not been compared in a trial.
Partly. The Institute publishes a seven-step self-help version and sells video programmes. But its own FAQ says most people will not be able to do it alone, because finding the right beliefs is hard. Choose a mild belief, avoid anything traumatic, and treat the result as an experiment.
There are no published safety data. The method asks you to recall childhood events, which can be upsetting and, as with any memory work, can produce inaccurate recollections. Take extra care with trauma, severe depression, psychosis or eating disorders, and use a licensed clinician instead. Never replace medical treatment with it.
No. It is a proprietary method, and a Lefkoe certificate is not a licence. Whether a practitioner needs one depends on their title and country: "psychotherapist" is protected in places such as Ontario, but "counsellor" and "coach" often are not. Check your local regulator or professional register.
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