Claire Weekes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Claire Weekes (1903—1990) was an Australian general practitioner and health writer; she also had an early career as a research scientist working in the field of comparative reproduction.

Weekes found that many of her patients suffered from neurotic conditions, such as anxiety attacks, phobias and obsessive-compulsive neurosis. She was concerned by the severe long-term effect these had on her patients' lives and by the failure of psychiatric treatments such as psychoanalysis, that many had tried. She developed a program of treatment based on ideas from cognitive and behavioural psychology. She noted, for example that patients did not suffer from these problems because they had flawed personalities or traumatic childhoods. Rather, the problems were caused by the patient having a habit of fear-avoidance, made worse, or caused, by a very responsive (labile) nervous system.

Her program was first given to her own patients and then, as word spread of its success, to others in the form of records and cassette tapes. Eventually, she developed a self-help pack consisting of a book and cassette, with Claire Weekes guiding patients through a program. She has summarised this program as follows; facing the feared situation, accepting the feeling of panic, floating through it, and letting time pass.

Her first book, published in 1962 was called Self Help For Your Nerves; this book has sold more than 300,000 copies, and has been translated into eight languages. Her second book, Peace from Nervous Suffering was published in 1972. In the 1970s Dr. Weekes was a regular guest on a British national TV programme, broadcast at lunch-time, introducing people to her techniques. She also appeared on TV and radio world-wide. Although she eventually had five books published featuring her self-help methods and advice, her work was marked by the personal nature of her approach; her books could be ordered directly for example, rather than the usual "business" publishing style of self-help book writers. She was a Doctor of Science as well as an M.D. and died in 1990.

Although many G.P.'s may still not be aware of her books they are still in print, and her work is promoted by an organisation in Australia set up by her heirs.