Twig's Se Reflections

Play Episode 89 Here Techniques and technique generally is key to our success as SE Practitioners. Being able to identify what is happening for a client, what that indicates about what is coming next, having some sense of what to ask for next, all of these are necessary to move sessions in the right direction. And yet, other times there will be a dramatic unfolding that happens simply because the Practitioner has "A Feeling" and follows it. In those moments, technique likely only gets in the way!

Play Episode 88 Here In SE Sessions, some things are associated, while others are not. Practitioners need to see these relationships for what they are and decide if there's enough differentiation amongst associated pieces to create the context for penduluation. If so, off we go to see what happens next. If not, various differentiating, mitigating and directing questions will be necessary to help bring about that swing. In this "treading water" episode I borrow the audio version from Chapter 33 of Twig's Guide to the SE Language to share some thoughts on "seeing the Pendulation Terrain" (limits and opportunities of associated experiences) and prime listeners of this podcast for an upcoming episode on priming successful pendulation. https://vimeo.com/164844929

Play Episode 87 Here Dynamic sessions that move toward productive change rather than maintain the status quo regularly introduce new things. These include: experiments (also known as excercises), Practitioner behavioral changes (like increasing or decreasing pace of reflections) and trying on of different channels of attention for the client (such as turning toward sensation or image). In this episode I encourage SE Practitioners to try new things out "once" so that they can read the feedback of how it went and adjust their next interventions accordingly. Simple like that. Mentions: I reference a few older SE Reflections episodes this time around, including: e.38 - It's a Try It Out Kind of Thing (in which I encourage your to, well, try things out)e.01 - The Importance of Spontaneity (a critical metric for successful movement in sessions)e.43 The Formula (how to attend to the storyline without getting caught in the negative parts of it)e.77 - Will this Be an "I Can" or "I Can't" Moment (

I know I'd prefer a softer landing. How about you? Play Episode 86 Here Some of our clients have been "going, going, going" and are going to continue doing so until they "collapse." When we can see that coming it's often worth introducing the idea of planning or preparing a time when they can permit themselves to "not do more" but instead allow their bodies to try to rest and restore a little. Obviously not a solution to overarching activation, unsustainable lifestyle choices or classic nervous system disregulation, the "planned collapse" can help soften the challenge of an exhuastion that threatens to make things worse. Toward the end of this episode I role-play an introduction to offering these ideas to a client: complete with mitigating language, preempting the Red Vortex, menuing, and titrating toward the Yes - any of which might be cut out when they're unnecessary due to a client's relative interest or resiliency. These are all communication issues that I cover indepth in Twig's Guide to

We're all about following and permission. Yet, when that's going to lead to a client getting hurt, it's time to come in and do something. Play Episode 85 Here There are times in sessions when movement becomes increasingly free and involuntary. It's a special thing to watch the body "come out of freeze" like that. And there are cautions: like being attentive that a sharp angle on a joint doesn't cause damage for later. To avoid this practitioners need to monitor the range of motion for even as we support it to "do its thing" we don't want to let it become too extreme.

Play Episode 84 Here When we're stressed we think less. That's true for everyone but it's an especially vexing fact for our distressed clients – many of whom desperately need to make more helpful and healthful decisions on behalf of their well-being. Milton Erickson, the famous psychiatrist and hypnotherapist, knew this too. That's why he maintained a list to reference when his body got racked by pain due to his history with polio. I often tell clients about Milton's list (and my own) and why it may be a good idea for them to create something similar for times when they're "freaking." Episode Mentions: Milton Ericsson - WikipediaMilton H. Erickson M.D.: An American Healer - Amazon - non-affiliated linkKathy Kain - Somatic Experiencing® FacultyStephen Gilligan - Trance Camp When I'm introducing this idea of "Milton's List" to clients I'm first trying to get it across that: We think less when we're stressed so it's a good idea to have an aid to help us re-direct our attention toward mor

The more we can "let that be itself" – the better. Helping to find the amount of possible allowance and being satisfied with that, is a key to successful integration. Play Episode 83 Here There's a classic moment in SE sessions when a client is successfully moving through the activation cycle only to balk at allowing the discharge or deactivation phase because it "feels too weird" and indeed often times this phase includes truly odd, unsettling or even frightening sensations. It's important to get adept at gauging how much allowance of this "wierd" experience can be tolerated and to work toward trying to limit the attention to the "strangeness" in a way that your client can be successful at allowing this very "new" impression to be felt and integrated in their somatic experience - as much as possible. This episode looks around at the timing, considerations and some lines of trying to help these unique experiences be felt and "move on through."

Play Episode 82 Here An unrestrained reverie episode considering the mythical, idealized and probably impossible Perfect Therapeutic Island. Includes a look at when it would be necessary to go there, what would make it ideal, and words of encouragement on what we SEP's can do when holding the tension between the reality of what is possible and what we wish for.

Play Episode 81 Here Practically speaking, when every knew sensation is a threat there are things that SE Practitioners need to do in order to enable success rather than recapitulate the feeling of pain, failure, or the impossibility for change. Episode 81 looks at some of the step by step nature of bringing pain laden movement sequences into small successes and "back out again." It's all in the name of success in getting to do something new, rather than the same old thing that calls up the pain and thus reinforces it.

Play Episode 80 Here Sometimes pain is the overriding signal in a client's experience. Try as we might there's simply not much ease or goodness to be found. In this episode I start to look into what we can do about such a scene in order to get some traction to help things change. Funny enough, this episode gets cut short due to local conditions so the next one will tackle the more practical elements while this recording covers some of the basic concerns for the practitioner and client when working with chronic or overwhelming pain.

Play Episode 79 Here Challenged sleep is a psycho-historical phenomenon of the times in which we live. It's also a very real and personal experience for many of our clients. Being able to think and talk about sleep from multiple different levels is a requirement of our work. This episode looks at self-care tactics, some broader notions about sleep and reiterates my conviction that enhanced self-regulation accessed through completion of self-protective responses is a golden key to help us close our eyes at night and find out what are dreams are going to be about.

Play Episode 78 Here One paradox in our SE work is the need to engage the "problem state" or "Red/Trauma Vortex" material and at the same time avoid it becoming too much of itself. Some of us get quite good at helping clients feel calmer and even generally "better" simply by helping them avoid reinforcing their attention toward disquiet and turmoil. Still and all, eventually we need to address the problem, the challenge, the task at hand. This episode simply names that out and makes an encouragement to not avoid (fear) the text.

Play Episode 77 Here Our SE sessions are made up of dozens, if not hundreds, of elements of experience encountered in the moment. Part of our task as SE Practitioners is to help clients thread their attention through these elements in a way that maximizes the sense of success while minimizing the sense of failure - ala the "I Can Principle." Judging what is going to become an "I Can" moment and what will lead to reinforcing "I Can't" requires time, experience and attention. This critical weighing of what is going to work and what isn't will be greatly aided by realizing that you're constantly updating this assessment and that you''re better off working in relationship to ideals of "what should be happening" rather than continually frustrating a person's success by either asking for or being unhelpful in minimizing when things will not be successful. In short, we need to be able to perceive what our client's "can do" and help them achieve that while doing our best to minimize what they "can't do."

As SE practitioner we often either accompany or prepare our clients for stressful events. Things like surgeries, court battles, conflicted meetings with family or employers and so on. These inherently stressful events can be hard on anyone and are especially challenged for people who already experience themselves in regular distress. They're also the kind of events that we shouldn't "do alone" if at all possible. And whenever possible, hopefully we'll have an advocate on our side. Advocates can focus on all kinds of different responsibilities. In this episode I consider the advocate whose role is to help modulate the stress response during a challenging event. This is only a first look at a broader subject that I'll return to more specifically around preparing for surgery and medical procedures. Preparing for Surgery Primer In this episode I mention a Preparing for Surgery primer/guide that I created years back. This piece still needs an update but the original document still stands up and by signing

Play Episode 75 Here Along the path of learning something as dynamic as Somatic Experiencing is extended time repeating and mimicking other peoples words, voice, rhythm and presentation. This "copy cat time" is probably necessary. There are so many patterns in our work that require our extensive practice before they become our own. Once they do become our own, once we hear our own voice and expression coming in to guide our sessions...we should give a cheer and turn that way. Even if it includes quirks of our own personality that may be unique to us. Ultimately finding our own voice reflects our at-ease-ness in the room, which transmits through our tone and posture to signal a stronger sense of safety "I'm okay to be here. And so are you." Here's some encouragement for going through the process of finding your own SE voice.

Play Episode 74 Here The consistency of our signal and feedback to our clients is key to helping them get to know us and our work quickly. The more random, confused or inconsistent our requests the harder it is for our clients to find security and success in our offices. This reflection doesn't go into all the nuances behind helping our clients get to know our work but it does look at this issue of consistency and offers a few ideas on where to apply it.

Play Episode 73 Here From the first contact we're learning things that will matter later in the session. The more we acknowledge that we're actually trying to get to know our client's quickly, the better we'll get at it. This episode includes some storytelling from the field in DR Congo where my ability to get to know my client quickly made all the difference.

Play Episode 72 Here There are occasions when it's problematic if our client's "fall away" or "go to sleep" during our sessions. However most of the time it's an honor and potentially a very good sign when a client "let's go" in our presence. Letting down in the company of a member of our own species is a mammalian expectation and not always easily achieved by some of our clients (or ourselves). This episode looks at a few considerations involved in what helps, and hinders, people from letting go near us.

Play Episode 71 Here Silence is a critical and natural part of SE sessions. And yet sometimes it can go on too long. The client can sit there in silence while you explain things excessively.You as the clinician can sit there in silence while your client talks and talks endlessly.The two of you can sit in awkward silence not knowing what to say next after you ask "what do you notice now?"Worst yet, sometimes in Freeze/DVC phases the silence can become terminal and reinforce the stuck state. In this episode I look at some of the dynamics of allowing silence to go on too long: including internal critical dialogue of the practitioner, consequences of allowing too much silence and some solutions to avoid it being problematic.

Play Episode 70 Here To work eyes open or closed? That is the question. Rather than one way being "right" and the other "wrong," there are times when one or the other is more appropriate with a continuum between the extremes. This episode looks at some of the dynamics behind when we're better off to help our client's keep their eyes open and when it only makes sense to let them close.