Don't talk about it - that's the advice of an Oxford psychiatrist who's convinced he's made the biggest psychological breakthrough since Freud.

Dr Clive Sherlock is hitting the national headlines with his pioneering approach and patients are flocking to his Oxford clinic from all over the world. From psychoanalysts to priests, everyone wants a piece of the action.

And after 25 years of developing his novel treatment Dr Sherlock is now ready to reveal his secrets and publish his findings in the country's top medical journals and in a book. Not only does the 53-year-old advocate getting on with life rather than wallowing in one's problems, he will also teach you how not to think or talk about them, a method he has evolved over the years called Adaption Practice.

So what does he do? "I teach people how to live their lives rather than just think about it," he explained.

"Anybody can learn it. People can be relieved of all the things that are upsetting them, from worrying, to painful memories. It's a matter of concentrating on the present and putting ourselves wholeheartedly into what we are doing. By using his methods, patients achieve inner confidence and strength. "It enables them to cope. Most patients experience an overwhelming sense of relief when they get there," he said. "By thinking and talking about our anxieties and depression, we go over them again and again, rehearsing them, and so reminding ourselves of them."

In most cases patients are significantly better within six months, compared to years of painful analysis.

"A lot of people who come to see me have had psychotherapy, cognitive therapy or drugs for years and are still anxious or depressed," he said. His techniques have been attracting clients from far and wide. After a recent article in a national newspaper, Dr Sherlock's three clinics, including Bowness Avenue, Headington, were inundated with over 1,000 calls.

He is starting a training course this autumn, to teach other psychiatrists his methods.

However, he knows his new methods will send shock waves around the medical establishment and is expecting some criticism. "Jung and Freud had similar problems in the 1900s," he said.

However, he firmly believes his new methods will revolutionise the field of psychiatry.

"It's really very exciting," he said.

Story date: Saturday 10 April

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