Dr. Todd Curtis runs an outstanding web site on airline safety at www.airsafe.com. Dr. Curtis holds a PhD in aviation risk assessment and is the author of Understanding Aviation Safety Data.



I subscribe to Dr. Curtis's newsletter and was more than pleased to receive the following emailed newsletter today that recognizes the work Lisa Hauptner and I do here at SOAR Inc.



THE SOAR FEAR OF FLYING PROGRAM OF CAPT. TOM BUNN



The fear of flying is not something that is easily understood or controlled, especially by those who feel the effects every time they go to the airport. Many passengers feel that the only way to deal with the problem is to either avoid flying as much as possible, or to deal with it alone. Both options have serious drawbacks, and make it difficult for the person experiencing the anxiety to enjoy the benefits of air travel or to experience a trip without experiencing stress.



Many people who have trouble with flying have tried "everything" on their own, tried therapy, tried medication, or even tried one or more fear of flying programs. They still have hope but they are very doubtful that anything will work. That doubt may be erased with a better approach. One of the approaches that I think works well is the SOAR program from airline captain and licensed therapist Tom Bunn. He has been directly involved with understanding and treating flying related anxieties since 1980 when he became part of the first fear of flying at a major U.S. airline. Two years later in 1982, Captain Bunn founded SOAR to help passengers overcome their fear of flying by helping them to understand their anxieties, and more importantly how to overcome them.



During his career, he has helped over 5,000 overcome difficulty with flying. When he was first involved in his airline's fear of flying program, he was disturbed to see that substantial numbers of participants who successfully completed the course, and even their "graduation flights," were still very anxious about flying. This inspired him to improve these kinds of fear of flying programs by including innovative concepts from behavioral psychology into the course. This innovation finally came to fruition after he founded SOAR in 1980, and continues up to today.



His improvements has come through hard work and years of research. Unlike many of the fearful flying programs that are now available, Captain Bunn's program is based on scientific analysis and research, by Captain Bunn and others. Starting with studies by the University of Tennessee in the 1980s as well as his own academic work. In order to offer the most effective help possible, he completed graduate school to become a therapist. He spent five additional years in training at psychological institutes, finally developing a therapy that has made it possible for everyone to fly. Captain Bunn has also refined how he works with fearful flyers, allowing anxious passengers to tailor their therapy to

their needs.



Captain Bunn doesn't do all of this alone. One of his organization's key people is Lisa Hauptner, the vice president

and director of SOAR. After taking the course 15 years ago, she earned a masters degree in counseling, eventually becoming a licensed therapist and certified addictions counselor who practices group and individual psychotherapy in Westchester County, New York, and who is also an adjunct psychology professor at Pace University.



Lisa began working with SOAR in 1992. She is a former fearful flier who prior to her work with SOAR had a career as an investment consultant that demanded lots of air travel. She felt so strongly about her own successful results with the program on her previous career's travel requirements that she teamed up with Captain Bunn to run SOAR. As a former SOAR customer, she understand both sides of the story--the person who is terrified of flying and the person who knows that SOAR works.



RESOURCES



You can check out the options and resources offered by SOAR at one or more of the following pages:



The SOAR Fear of Flying Program

http://www.airsafe.com/issues/fear/soar.htm



SOAR MP3 and DVD Based Products

http://www.autopilotriches.com/app/?af=776424



Books and Other Resources

http://www.airsafe.com/products/gifts.htm





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ABOUT DR. TODD CURTIS

Dr. Todd Curtis holds a PhD in aviation risk assessment from the Union Institute, as well as engineering degrees from MIT, the University of Texas, and Princeton. He is the director of the  AirSafe.com Foundation and the creator of AirSafe.com. His work has been featured by numerous news organizations, and he has appeared frequently on CNN, BBC, National Public Radio, and elsewhere. He also authored the 2000 book Understanding Aviation Safety Data and the 2007 book Parenting and the Internet. Dr. Curtis is also a licensed private pilot and a member of the International Society of Air Safety Investigators.

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Copyright (c) 2008 Todd Curtis, All Rights Reserved



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