| Working
in the present moment
• Bringing responses in the room into visibility
• Requires vigilance
• Noticing emotions we experience also useful
This refers to bringing responses happening in
the room into visibility for consideration. An inquiry about what
is noticed can give the person an opportunity to notice what they
are experiencing and bring it into consciousness. This enables the
bringing forward of resource, knowledge and experience which otherwise
might escape notice. It requires considerable vigilance, careful
observation and listening and centralizes the person’s experiences
and responses, indicating the importance given to them by the clinician:
- “I noticed as I asked that question there seemed to
be a lot of thought.
What was the effect of the question?”
- “That laugh, is it an amused laugh, an embarrassed
laugh?”
- “I noticed you smiling as your mum talked about the
behaviour problems. Was there a fun aspect?”
- “This is what I am noticing (e.g. sighing, lots of
looking at watch). Have you noticed this as well?”
- “Is there any sense that there could be a trick happening
here, that I could be tricking you?”
- “It seems as if I have got a lot more energy in this
conversation than you do.”
Emotions being experienced in the present moment
can be a useful resource. Feeling states are telling us something
and we need to find a way to ask questions to put language, sensation,
metaphor to the emotion. This extends the knowledge people have
re the feeling state. People often are not cognitively aware of
what they are experiencing. Inviting the person to bring it into
cognitive awareness in relational language can make it an available
resource. For instance:
“Can you put words to that anxiety/tears,
etc? What was I saying when you started to become aware of it?”
Similarly the emotions we experience can be a useful
resource. We need to note and hold our response, consider it in
relational language and consider using it to inform an inquiry.
It may be an appropriate time to slow the conversation down, gather
threads, consult regarding direction, etc, and consider the effect
that the response is having on the conversation. |
