TRANSCRIPT
(T is leaning forward with her head on her knees — A interrupts the ongoing strategy by having her change posture and other accessing cues.)
A: Now if you want to get over this thing it will be important that you follow all of my instructions … I want you to sit up straight … okay? … (helps T into upright position) … now open your eyes and look at me until you can see me clearly … come outside so that you are no longer hooked into all of that internal stuff … look at me.
T: (Sobbing slightly) I'm trying … (starts to slump over again).
A: Stay sitting up straight (holds her in upright position) … Squeeze my wrist.
T: I'm trying to … it's hard . .. my body keeps wanting to go back down there …
A: I know, but it's important that you stay up straight … now I want you to breath up here in your chest … Just concentrate on that for a while.
T: (Begins to breathe regularly and finally gets control over her posture.)
A: That's right … keep squeezing my wrist … Does it help?
T: Uh-huh. (Sobbing has stopped.)
A: Okay, now tilt your head back … and I want you to look up there for a minute and see, and I only want you to see it, … see that image that you see right before you get that reaction.
T: (Begins to close eyes, wrinkle face and slump over.)
A: Squeeze my wrist now … open your eyes and look up there… Do you see it?
T: (Voice beginning to break) Yes …
A: Now I want you to look at that image carefully … and I want you to imagine that this little girl has just come into your office … Can you still see her?
T: (Tonality steadying, posture becoming more upright) Yes.
A: Can you hear her voice?
T: (Beginning to close her eyes and cry) … She's calling for help.
A: Now keep your eyes open and look up there at her … keep breathing … (wiggles his wrist until T begins to squeeze it) … Now I want you to imagine putting your body into her position and to feel her feelings … (Ke→Ki)
T: Ohhh … (Closes her eyes and slumps over).
A: Okay, that's enough, come back here with me … Sit up … Open your eyes and look at me … Squeeze my wrist … (Waits until T has recovered — then begins to utilize T's operation involving dissociation from the client)… . Now this time I want you to just look at the child and listen to the tonal qualities of her voice … Continue squeezing my wrist as much as you need to … As you continue to look at her I want you to ask yourself (Aid) what you could do to help her … Can you see (Vi) anything to do to help her?
T: What I can do? (Holding back tears.)
A: Yes … What can you do to help her … What would you do if she were a client of yours? (Directs T's eyes up and left.)
T: (Looking down and left, then up and left) … Well … (long pause) I could go over and hold her.
A: Okay, good … I want you to imagine the body sensations of going over and taking that child in your arms and holding her … (Ke) Can you do that?
T: (Eyes shift down and right, face flattens) … Uh-huh …
A: Now look at the child … (Ve) How is she responding? T: (Voice hesitant as if somewhat surprised) … She feels better
A: Is she saying anything? (A e)
T: Umm … No … She wants to be inside herself… so she can heal.
A: If you were to mirror her body posture now, would you be willing to take on her feelings … (Ke 'K')
T: (Stares down and right, defocuses) … No … She still has so much pain … (Begins to cry again and slump forward.)
A: Sit back up … (helps her into upright position) … Look at me … that's right … Squeeze my wrist … Come back … and just look at the girl again … (Ve) and ask yourself what else you can do … (Aid) (T's eye move down and to the left) … That's right… Now can you see anything else that you can do to help this child? (Vi)
T: (Eyes flick up and left) I can reassure her … and tell her to breath … she isn't breathing very much … and I can just hold her … that's what she says that she wants the most … and I can tell her that it's okay to look at me
A: Fine … Now imagine the feelings of what it would be like if you were actually doing that … (Ke)
T: (Eye position changes a number of times and eventually ends up down and right) Uh-huh … Okay …
A: Look at the child … how does she respond? (Ve)
T: She's relaxing a lot … She isn't crying anymore … (T's eyes have moved back up and to the left.)
A: As you look at her, I want you to tell me whether or not … if you were to mirror her body … whether or not you'd be willing to take on her feelings yet? (Ke→Ki)
T: (Looks up and left, then down and right, then back up and left) Uramm … Uh-huh …
A: Okay … Great … Now I want you to begin to mirror her (Ke).
T: Okay … (Adjusts her posture by drawing her arms and legs together, and tilting her head down and to the right.)
A: Now I want you to step inside her for a moment so that you know how she … feels (Ki) … and after you've done that … I want you to see (Vc) if there's anything else you can do to help that child with those feelings.
T: (Looks up and right and readjusts her posture to an upright position) I can take her out of the place that she is … I can take her somewhere new …
A: Can you see where yet?
T: (Eyes shift back and forth from up right to up left position) … Yes …
A: Imagine the feelings of taking her there … and look at her and listen to her to see how she is responding.
T: (Eyes move from up and right to down and right to up and left) … Good … (begins to smile and nod her head)
A: Now I want you to step inside her again (Ke→Ki) and see (Vc) what else she might need to do.
T: (Looking down and right and then up and left) She needs to open her eyes and look around and see all of the beautiful things around her …
A: Imagine yourself having her do that … (Ke) How does she respond?
T: (Eyes scan back and forth from up left to up right, smiles and takes a deep breath) She loves it… it's like she's in a new world
A: Does she need anything else?
T: No, she's happy there.
A: Okay … Now I want to leave her there for a moment… and I want you to come back here with me so that I can ask you a question …
T: Okay … (Looks at A)
A: From now on when you see those gestures that have scared you or hear those words that cause that reaction … What can you do?
T: (Pauses) Ummm … I can open my eyes and look around?
A: (Smiles) That's right … That's the only way you're going to be able to tell if you're in real physical danger … And what are you going to do if one of those things happens and you're not in danger (Makes a threatening gesture at T by clenching his fist and scowling.)
T: (Face pales and flattens. Hesitates momentarily, then color returns.) …I. ..I. ..I did it (laughs) … I didn't go away
A: That's right … (smiles) … you can laugh and feel good … and anytime you need to you can always look up there and see that little girl with her eyes wide open . .. observing carefully everything around her …
The author went on to help T devise tests for being able to tell when she was in truly dangerous situations, and to design operations for dealing with those situations. He also tested her responses to the formerly problematic words. All were satisfactory.
In this example of utilization the author simply directed the therapist, step by step, through her own strategy for effective therapy, substituting internal representations for those that were normally external. The therapist essentially did therapy on her own internal representations, transforming them from anchors for a powerful negative kinesthetic state into an anchor for resources (opening her eyes and looking around).