Kerry Wickman, Social Work, Salt Lake City, UT, USAsays
I employ what I call “flip it on its lid.” I ask my patients to consider the exact opposite reaction from others, thoughts and feelings they are either expecting or currently experiencing. If they say, “This is the worst thing that has ever happened to me,” I ask them to think about how it might be the very best thing that has ever happened. Or to imagine themselves down the road, looking back on today. How is this experience they are perceiving as so horrid, actually “flipped” into being an experience they’d never give back due to its informative, life-changing nature? This exercise can get very detailed and imaginative with some creativity.
Within the holistic nursing profession the belief is that health proceeds from a balance of physical, emotional, spiritual, psychological and social needs. The re-framing techniques mentioned in this video would be a way of looking beyond the medical condition (ex.: chemical imbalance) towards the treatment of the whole person. Assisting the client to find and connect with their intuitive calling (an unseen and uniquely defined concept that differs with each individual) is one way that facilitates a client’s internal heart-felt motivation that can move the client away from the repetitive thought thought patterns creating a stuck pattern in depression. Creating a new pattern is a strategy that helps the client use their sense of intuition to get in touch with what is is they really need and increases self-awareness of fitting into one’s sense of place in the world.
I would have loved to hear more from Peter Levine and Richard Schwartz. To my mind Somatic Experiencing and IFS are much more comprehensive, helpful modalities that actually look at what’s going on at a deep level, rather than just offering a client superficial CBT type exercises that don’t stick for everyone and don’t get to the core of the problem. I don’t think they’re particularly helpful for anyone with even a slightly complex case or someone suffering from trauma. I didn’t find these videos as helpful as others you have offered I must say, but I appreciate that you have a range of experts to show. It’s just that the two I mentioned above were just kind of spliced in very briefly into these videos in what I felt was an inauthentic way. Peter Levine for instance probably wouldn’t support the use of just cognitive exercises alone because he’s an amazing pioneer of bodywork and realises that the root of all distress is that trauma is stored in the nervous system so we need to start there – but you kind of used a segment of what he said to try to support other experts’ overall points. Please give us more of Peter Levine and Richard Schwartz (is that the correct spelling?) next time.
As often as is appropriate, I try and use reframing with depressed clients. I find this works really well with most but not all clients. Some are just more rigid and stuck and these take a little more effort to jiggle out of their entrenched position. I love a good reframe. Its immensely satisfying as a therapist to see the light dawn on the clients face, then they smile and at that moment you know they’ve seen the light, so to speak.
Thank you for the pearls of wisdom shared in this video.
I find EMDR is a highly effective treatment for interrupting depressive patterns.
Best Regards,
Bonnie Chaput, R.N., LMHC
Thank you – that was very interesting.
I often find as a relationship therapist that people get into negative ways of interacting and this can impact their way of thinking, which can leave them feeling depressed. I find that by drawing out the spirals, breaking down these negative patterns of interacting and looking at how they make them feel, they can change the way that they think and react to situations more positively. Just simple reframing can also have a impact and on these patterns, to break distorted thinking and enable the client to see things more positively.
Thank you for the talk and for your questions at the end which are so helpful in challenging me to self reflect and take account of my work, something that can so easily fade into the distance in the day to day routines.
Firstly I establish rapport, secondly I find a way to empathise, thirdly I help the client to learn control / choice theory so that they can begin to know that they are the only ones that can change this and fourthly I challenge by offering alternative narratives and reframes. On reflection, I think offering kindness and establishing an authentic relationship is the ground from which everything else can grow. In my experience it is key.
Sibyl Kramer, Systemic Couple and Family Therapist, Working at a Couceling Place. Beratungsstelle Scala in Solothurn.
Hi,
Thanks, for the videoclip,
I think this could be helpfull.
I find it a very interessting Theory on interrupting depressive Patterns.
Working with the narrative that keeps the depressive pattern alive seems a interessting, useful Idea.
Please excuse my english, I am writing and listening from Switzerland.
Sibyl
As Lynn Lyons mentioned, I also look for the narrative or the incident or past experiences that left the person stuck in a negative narrative of helplessness, “not good enough”, and powerlessness. I use a re-sourcing technique to help the person feel more self-love and self-acceptance.
I offer a tool of naming the thought pattern that rises: “this is boredom, this is the critic, this is the over-controlling.” Then I invite the client to step back and witness that moment as one of many, while also remembering a moment free of shame, guilt, criticism and pressure. While contemplating those two moments simultaneously, to choose one that brings more joy. When the choice is made, a shift usually happens at a deep level.
Thank you for asking to share.
Dr. Monique Giard
EMDR Therapist
I have a great appreciation of the symptoms of depression, the mental and physical, as the song says ” How can I get a move on, when I can’t even get my shoes on. So building new neural pathways is huge, so I use the clients own existing neural pathways and add a cognitive…to recognize an existing positive they can own.
Example: client – I was abused from the age of two, missed school, and just dont want to be here anymore.
Therapist: – You have been abused, lost education, and fought to now, you wear many unseen medals.
Difficult to describe, but when working as I have with referrals who have been saved from a seriously intended suicide, a small step is even too much, finding one already made and adding it to their own neurological pathway of negativity dilutes the power of depression by adding an unrecognized positive.
The weariness of depression and lack of motivation is bypassed, and a serotonin
boost of positivity from the therapists recognition of accomplishments builds a possibility of imagination for future resilience.
A script for suicide is often made when young and powerless, triggered by parallel feelings, adding to this script brings new cognitives into play.
Some very good inspiration on here, and very creative, and inspiring work thank you
Catherine Darling Forensic Psychotherapist in PTSD
It is so helpful to have examples of how a professional may interact with client for the purpose of externalising to allow client to become ‘less stuck’ on the internal/external sliding spectrum and choosing tasks, which while the client might not complete, plants the seed for reflection at a later date.
All of these ideas are so helpful, but we should not underestimate the power of acknowledging the source of depression. For most this will be unresolved trauma or grief. In the first instance when a client is telling me their ‘story’ I would want to explain to them why they feel the way they do, and that it is OK to feel this way. (Psycho-education). In my experience disrupting the patterns then becomes an easier task.
I have never thought of it as distruption or distraction. I counteract what they are saying about the cause of their depression by asking for evidence of their negative thoughts and asking them to write it down.
My aim is not to ignore their experience, or to make it insignificant but to allow them to look through a different lense.
I like the idea of writing down and not doing the disorder.
I help clients get in touch with what they have lost and what it means to them. They get in touch with what they care about, what they want to nurture and protect. Then I can help them begin to bring some of that back into their lives. Or I help them get in touch with the concerns they have about their lives and help them begin to address those concerns through action, perhaps starting with little steps to get on a path towards the life they want.
Thank a lot for the sharing. I help people going out their loop like you described, searching looking for resources (like the 100 things to write) and I work with a map of Four directions as tool to ground things and make the thinkings outside themself, this is a knowledge helping to balance, the wheel of four direction is supposed also to be us with four directions (front left right behind), four modalities of being, the four saison, representing the family, the groups we belong, the individual, and the mystery place of things we don’t know. It Shows the person how she feels standing in each direction, for example what was before, what are next steps, I like to put this map and representation of four directions directly on the ground and ask them to visit this wheel, their own wheel themself, to feel, to clarify and understand standing in motion where they are on the wheel right now, and exploring the direction they are possibly stuck with their stories/narratives, what direction is may be in excess, what direction of themself they didn’t nourish yet ou couldn’t nourish yet, which direction they feel well on the wheel, it gives ideas, it gives representations, it gives openings. To sumerize I really appreciate and see the efficiency of the help of the four directions and four seasons as helpers, and much much more in it. Catherine
I try to make clarity about their values, about what kind of person they would like to be, and help them set intention to move in that direction starting with the smallest step they can do. I invite them to notice anything nice happened to them at the end of the day, one thing apparently insignificant, and write in down
I employ what I call “flip it on its lid.” I ask my patients to consider the exact opposite reaction from others, thoughts and feelings they are either expecting or currently experiencing. If they say, “This is the worst thing that has ever happened to me,” I ask them to think about how it might be the very best thing that has ever happened. Or to imagine themselves down the road, looking back on today. How is this experience they are perceiving as so horrid, actually “flipped” into being an experience they’d never give back due to its informative, life-changing nature? This exercise can get very detailed and imaginative with some creativity.
Within the holistic nursing profession the belief is that health proceeds from a balance of physical, emotional, spiritual, psychological and social needs. The re-framing techniques mentioned in this video would be a way of looking beyond the medical condition (ex.: chemical imbalance) towards the treatment of the whole person. Assisting the client to find and connect with their intuitive calling (an unseen and uniquely defined concept that differs with each individual) is one way that facilitates a client’s internal heart-felt motivation that can move the client away from the repetitive thought thought patterns creating a stuck pattern in depression. Creating a new pattern is a strategy that helps the client use their sense of intuition to get in touch with what is is they really need and increases self-awareness of fitting into one’s sense of place in the world.
I would have loved to hear more from Peter Levine and Richard Schwartz. To my mind Somatic Experiencing and IFS are much more comprehensive, helpful modalities that actually look at what’s going on at a deep level, rather than just offering a client superficial CBT type exercises that don’t stick for everyone and don’t get to the core of the problem. I don’t think they’re particularly helpful for anyone with even a slightly complex case or someone suffering from trauma. I didn’t find these videos as helpful as others you have offered I must say, but I appreciate that you have a range of experts to show. It’s just that the two I mentioned above were just kind of spliced in very briefly into these videos in what I felt was an inauthentic way. Peter Levine for instance probably wouldn’t support the use of just cognitive exercises alone because he’s an amazing pioneer of bodywork and realises that the root of all distress is that trauma is stored in the nervous system so we need to start there – but you kind of used a segment of what he said to try to support other experts’ overall points. Please give us more of Peter Levine and Richard Schwartz (is that the correct spelling?) next time.
As often as is appropriate, I try and use reframing with depressed clients. I find this works really well with most but not all clients. Some are just more rigid and stuck and these take a little more effort to jiggle out of their entrenched position. I love a good reframe. Its immensely satisfying as a therapist to see the light dawn on the clients face, then they smile and at that moment you know they’ve seen the light, so to speak.
Thank you for the pearls of wisdom shared in this video.
I find EMDR is a highly effective treatment for interrupting depressive patterns.
Best Regards,
Bonnie Chaput, R.N., LMHC
My counseling department
will be holding a professional development day on 2/14. Is there any way that I could show this video then?
Thank you – that was very interesting.
I often find as a relationship therapist that people get into negative ways of interacting and this can impact their way of thinking, which can leave them feeling depressed. I find that by drawing out the spirals, breaking down these negative patterns of interacting and looking at how they make them feel, they can change the way that they think and react to situations more positively. Just simple reframing can also have a impact and on these patterns, to break distorted thinking and enable the client to see things more positively.
Thank you for the talk and for your questions at the end which are so helpful in challenging me to self reflect and take account of my work, something that can so easily fade into the distance in the day to day routines.
Firstly I establish rapport, secondly I find a way to empathise, thirdly I help the client to learn control / choice theory so that they can begin to know that they are the only ones that can change this and fourthly I challenge by offering alternative narratives and reframes. On reflection, I think offering kindness and establishing an authentic relationship is the ground from which everything else can grow. In my experience it is key.
Best regards,
Peter from Ireland.
Sibyl Kramer, Systemic Couple and Family Therapist, Working at a Couceling Place. Beratungsstelle Scala in Solothurn.
Hi,
Thanks, for the videoclip,
I think this could be helpfull.
I find it a very interessting Theory on interrupting depressive Patterns.
Working with the narrative that keeps the depressive pattern alive seems a interessting, useful Idea.
Please excuse my english, I am writing and listening from Switzerland.
Sibyl
As Lynn Lyons mentioned, I also look for the narrative or the incident or past experiences that left the person stuck in a negative narrative of helplessness, “not good enough”, and powerlessness. I use a re-sourcing technique to help the person feel more self-love and self-acceptance.
I offer a tool of naming the thought pattern that rises: “this is boredom, this is the critic, this is the over-controlling.” Then I invite the client to step back and witness that moment as one of many, while also remembering a moment free of shame, guilt, criticism and pressure. While contemplating those two moments simultaneously, to choose one that brings more joy. When the choice is made, a shift usually happens at a deep level.
Thank you for asking to share.
Dr. Monique Giard
EMDR Therapist
I have a great appreciation of the symptoms of depression, the mental and physical, as the song says ” How can I get a move on, when I can’t even get my shoes on. So building new neural pathways is huge, so I use the clients own existing neural pathways and add a cognitive…to recognize an existing positive they can own.
Example: client – I was abused from the age of two, missed school, and just dont want to be here anymore.
Therapist: – You have been abused, lost education, and fought to now, you wear many unseen medals.
Difficult to describe, but when working as I have with referrals who have been saved from a seriously intended suicide, a small step is even too much, finding one already made and adding it to their own neurological pathway of negativity dilutes the power of depression by adding an unrecognized positive.
The weariness of depression and lack of motivation is bypassed, and a serotonin
boost of positivity from the therapists recognition of accomplishments builds a possibility of imagination for future resilience.
A script for suicide is often made when young and powerless, triggered by parallel feelings, adding to this script brings new cognitives into play.
Some very good inspiration on here, and very creative, and inspiring work thank you
Catherine Darling Forensic Psychotherapist in PTSD
thank you-some good ideas, some new!
It is so helpful to have examples of how a professional may interact with client for the purpose of externalising to allow client to become ‘less stuck’ on the internal/external sliding spectrum and choosing tasks, which while the client might not complete, plants the seed for reflection at a later date.
Thank you.
Helen
All of these ideas are so helpful, but we should not underestimate the power of acknowledging the source of depression. For most this will be unresolved trauma or grief. In the first instance when a client is telling me their ‘story’ I would want to explain to them why they feel the way they do, and that it is OK to feel this way. (Psycho-education). In my experience disrupting the patterns then becomes an easier task.
I have never thought of it as distruption or distraction. I counteract what they are saying about the cause of their depression by asking for evidence of their negative thoughts and asking them to write it down.
My aim is not to ignore their experience, or to make it insignificant but to allow them to look through a different lense.
I like the idea of writing down and not doing the disorder.
I help clients get in touch with what they have lost and what it means to them. They get in touch with what they care about, what they want to nurture and protect. Then I can help them begin to bring some of that back into their lives. Or I help them get in touch with the concerns they have about their lives and help them begin to address those concerns through action, perhaps starting with little steps to get on a path towards the life they want.
Thank a lot for the sharing. I help people going out their loop like you described, searching looking for resources (like the 100 things to write) and I work with a map of Four directions as tool to ground things and make the thinkings outside themself, this is a knowledge helping to balance, the wheel of four direction is supposed also to be us with four directions (front left right behind), four modalities of being, the four saison, representing the family, the groups we belong, the individual, and the mystery place of things we don’t know. It Shows the person how she feels standing in each direction, for example what was before, what are next steps, I like to put this map and representation of four directions directly on the ground and ask them to visit this wheel, their own wheel themself, to feel, to clarify and understand standing in motion where they are on the wheel right now, and exploring the direction they are possibly stuck with their stories/narratives, what direction is may be in excess, what direction of themself they didn’t nourish yet ou couldn’t nourish yet, which direction they feel well on the wheel, it gives ideas, it gives representations, it gives openings. To sumerize I really appreciate and see the efficiency of the help of the four directions and four seasons as helpers, and much much more in it. Catherine
I try to make clarity about their values, about what kind of person they would like to be, and help them set intention to move in that direction starting with the smallest step they can do. I invite them to notice anything nice happened to them at the end of the day, one thing apparently insignificant, and write in down