Speaker Spotlight: Alta Rens on why insight alone isn’t enough
Why do some clients understand their patterns perfectly, yet still feel unable to change them in the moments that matter?
With the BWRT World Congress 2026 approaching this May, we’re spotlighting some of the speakers who will be sharing their expertise at the event.
Alta Rens, BWRT practitioner, counselling psychologist and neuroscience-based leadership coach with over 30 years of international experience, will be exploring the limits of insight in therapy and what’s needed to create real, lasting change.
Her session introduces BWRT as a neuroscience-based approach that works directly with the brain’s predictive pathways, helping clients move beyond understanding their patterns to changing them at the point where responses are created.
We spoke to Alta to find out more.
What will you be speaking about at the BWRT World Congress 2026?
Where insight ends and real change begins.
This talk introduces BWRT as a neuroscience‑based method for creating rapid, meaningful change within a traditional therapeutic practice. Using real client experiences, it highlights the limits of insight alone and shows how BWRT works with the brain’s predictive pathways to dissolve automatic responses safely and effectively.
What inspired you to choose this topic for your session?
This topic chose me long before I chose it. In my clinical and leadership work, I kept meeting clients who were extraordinarily insightful yet still felt hijacked in the moment it mattered. They could explain their pattern with precision, but their nervous system had already made the decision for them.
Why is this issue particularly important for therapists working today?
Therapists today are working with clients whose nervous systems are under unprecedented pressure. We’re seeing higher levels of chronic stress, trauma‑encoded responses, and automatic survival patterns that activate long before conscious awareness. In a world where triggers are faster, more frequent, and more complex, therapists need tools that can meet the brain at the speed it operates.
What are some of the challenges therapists face in this area?
Therapists often end up working around the trigger, managing it, soothing it, reframing it, rather than being able to change the pattern at its source. Clients feel emotionally overwhelmed and reluctant to revisit the original material that unnecessarily reactivates trauma.
How does BWRT approach this issue differently from other therapeutic approaches?
Most therapies intervene after the emotional or cognitive response has formed, BWRT intervenes before the amygdala activates. It targets the predictive template that drives the reflex itself. This means BWRT doesn’t require emotional reliving, narrative exploration, or cognitive effort.
What makes BWRT particularly effective for the kind of work you’ll be discussing?
BWRT is uniquely effective because it operates in the pre‑emotional window; the milliseconds where the old pathway can be interrupted and replaced. For clients who ‘know better but can’t stop,’ BWRT finally gives them access to the moment they usually lose. It’s fast, precise, and deeply respectful of the nervous system.
What are you most looking forward to about the BWRT World Congress this year?
This will be the second congress I attend. I was new to BWRT last year, having recently completed my Level 1 training and was fascinated by the range of topics that were showcased. I am looking forward to connecting with fellow practitioners to discuss and extend my learning.
Join Us at the BWRT World Congress 2026
The BWRT World Congress 2026 takes place in May, bringing together practitioners from around the world to share clinical insights, practical techniques, and the latest developments in BrainWorking Recursive Therapy®.
If you’re working with clients who have strong insight but continue to feel stuck in automatic patterns, Alta’s session offers a powerful perspective on how to work at the level where real change becomes possible.