:Ryan Howes's The Ten Coolest Therapy Interventions
"This series is for entertainment and basic educational purposes only. My mission is to demystify elements of therapy so it becomes more accessible to the general public."
"Here are the Ten Coolest Therapy Inventions (10CTI). Click through to each full post and interview:
10. The Miracle Question
"Suppose tonight, while you slept, a miracle occurred. When you awake tomorrow, what would be some of the things you would notice that would tell you life had suddenly gotten better?"
"What: One simple question that moves clients toward a solution-focused outcome.
Why cool? Immediately shifts the brain toward positive thinking.
Guest: Linda Metcalf, author and Solution-Focused Therapy expert."
9. The Empty Chair
"The client imagined someone (or himself, herself, or parts of him or herself) in it, and spoke, gestured, or otherwise communicated to the "empty chair," which was now not so empty. The client then sat in the chair, continuing the conversation, this time reversing roles."
"What: Telling off your demanding boss, even if the chair opposite you is empty.
Why cool? Enabled millions of people to practice expressing how they really feel.
Guest: Dan Bloom, President of the Association for the Advancement of Gestalt Therapy."
8. Paradoxical Interventions
"The idea is that, if a symptom is involuntary, having it voluntarily means the behavior can be controlled and is no longer a symptom."
"What: By prescribing the very symptom you want to eliminate, somehow you gain power and control.
Why cool? Insight and progress sneak through the back door.
Guest: Cloe Madanes, pioneer of Strategic Family Therapy."
7. Voice Dialogue
"Each of us "contains multitudes". We are made up of many selves, identifying with some and rejecting others. This over-identification with some selves and the loss of wholeness that comes from the rejection of others, can create imbalances and blind spots. This work is about embracing all the selves."
"What: A summit meeting between conflicted parts of self.
Why cool? Helps clients understand how complex they are and work toward integration.
Guest: Hal and Sidra Stone, founders of the Psychology of the Selves."
6. The Hunger Illusion
"The process is simple: 1) identify the moment you tend to act automatically, 2) don't, and 3) see what thoughts and feelings come up."
"What: Stop yourself before acting on habit and see what comes up.
Why cool? Gives powerful insight into the unconscious with no therapist required!
Guest: George Weinberg, venerable psychologist and Hunger Illusion creator."
5. Head-On Collision
"When people push through the resistance and experience true, intense emotion about the past and present, psychological symptoms diminish and interpersonal relationships improve."
"What: Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy ( ISTDP ) therapists are essentially resistance exterminators who eliminate harmful defenses.
Why cool? It's quick, it's bold, it's hardcore, it's punk rock.
Guest: Allan Abbas, leading researcher in ISTDP."
4. Sandplay
"The remarkable feature of sandplay is that, as the client fashions and moves the figures in the trays, his or her psyche concurrently moves into new and healthier configurations. This takes place with no intermediary. Instead it is a direct link of psyche, or brain patterns to three dimensional figures that "write" and "re-write" its configuration to healthier, fuller functioning."
"What: Using your hands, sand and plastic figures to communicate your internal world.
Why cool? The psyche becomes a visible, tangible 3-D environment.
Guest: Barbara Turner, prominent author and Sandplay therapist."
3. Primal Therapy
"The aim of Primal Therapy is to restore the patients access to their repressed feelings and therefore free them from the consequences of repression. It is a process that the patients can go on doing by themselves once they have "access" to the buried feelings."
"Each time they let themselves "feel" they reconnect themselves to the origin of the repression and have numerous insights. They also feel better that they knew was possible because they take the misery out of their systems."
"What: Expressing emotions locked away from consciousness.
Why cool? It confronts the deepest wounds to achieve profound results. And John Lennon did it.
Guest: Arthur Janov, founder of Primal Therapy."
2. Virtual Reality
"We are at the start of a revolution in clinical research and care, in large part due to the game-changing impact that VR and other related digital technologies will have, as we charge ahead into the 21st Century!"
"What: Using a computer-generated environment to help soldiers and others work through emotional trauma.
Why cool? Just re-read that last sentence.
Guest: Cyber-psychology's bad boy, Skip Rizzo."
1. Transference Interpretation
"The interpretation of the transference situation is designed to make something conscious that has been unconscious."
"This co-created epiphany helps thoughts, feelings and behaviors suddenly make sense and seem manageable."
"A transference interpretation links three sides of a triangle. One side is the patient's transference to the therapist; a second side is the patient's experiences with current relationships outside of therapy; the third side is the patient's past relationships with parents and others."
"What: Ties together the past, the present and the therapy in one well-crafted statement.
Why cool? Patience, understanding and insight collide in one life-changing sentence.
Guest: Popular author and psychoanalyst Glen O. Gabbard. "
And one final post to summarize, list the honorable mentions and wrap up."
"Honorable Mentions
- EMDR - Treating thousands of cases of PTSD, one eyeball at a time.
- Equine Therapy - When the couch becomes a saddle for treating eating disorders, mood disorders, autism, even gang violence.
- Here and Now - For some folks, this is the most difficult question ever: "How are you feeling here with me now?"
- Doubling - This classic group therapy/psychodrama technique involves group members pitching in to help find a voice.
- Hypnosis - The original therapeutic technique has helped millions with such varied issues as smoking, pain management and putting (golf).
- Mindfulness - Everyone's talking about it. Is it fad or fixture?
- Art Therapy - Everything Cathy Malchiodi is saying in her blog series qualifies as cool."
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