Hi Brad,

I have decided to improve my ability to give therapeutic assignments. As a start, I have set have set a goal of giving an assignment at the end of each session. Also, I have reread the chapter in Improvisational Therapy on intervention design. I will look for key words and try to create interventions based on those as you described.

The following is a description of  an intervention that I just did. This is the same client I have written about previously. This was a phone session. At the beginning she was crying. She stated that she was sad and angry. she said that they had backed her into a corner. She could not compete with them. She wanted to go to the store, but they told her that not to go. They were bothering her. Hurting her. We agreed on a goal for this session of getting away from them. We started by exploring whether there was someplace to go where they were not present. She said they were everywhere everywhere that she went. So, we decided to send them away. She had a brief objection to this, saying that if they went away, she would lose her “boyfriend” Michael. I asked would it be OK to send them away if we did it in a way they she could still be with Michael and she agreed.  We explored whether we should send them a vacation, or someplace where they would be hurt as she had described them as hurting her. She did not believe that they should be hurt. Instead, she wanted  to send them to Alaska, because it was cold there. I told her to draw a picture of Alaska. She was then to come up with a symbol that represents them. She was then to place the symbol in the picture of Alaska. If they needed convincing to go to Alaska, she was to tell them that there was some interesting competitions taking place there. Client has agreed to the assignment, and we’ll see what happens as a result. I’m not sure that I was able to incorporate all of the clients important words here, but I think it was a good start. What do you think? Am I on the right track?

Robert Musikantow, Ph.D.

February 13, 2010

Hi Robert,

I think this is an excellent direction to pursue. I once sat down and wrote what seemed like nearly a thousand interventions just for the practice of it. The chapter in Improvisational Therapy is a great way to get things going. The key metaphors carry the connections to a client’s system of meaning so utilizing them is essential. Chaos theory alone says that juggling these metaphors about in a new way is a means of triggering change. Juggling them so they prescribe new performances of action is the highest form of systemic reorganization. This is what the field of psychotherapy too often disconnects from.

Let’s look at what you sent:

“At the beginning she was crying. She stated that she was sad and angry. She said that they had backed her into a corner. She could not compete with them. She wanted to go to the store, but they told her that not to go. They were bothering her. Hurting her.”

With this information we could choose some of these metaphors: sad-and-angry, backed into a corner, compete, bothering-and-hurting. As an exercise, imagine stringing these metaphors together inside a directive without worrying whether it makes any sense. Meaning will be implied by the mere mention of the metaphors. For example:

Setup: “They seem to be wanting a competition with you. They want to back you in a corner and you don’t want to be hurt or sad and angry. They already have shown they can back you in a corner, but I bet you have some choice as to which corner. If you could choose whether they make you sad or angry which would it be?”

Task: “You could choose a corner in your home as the sad corner and one as the angry corner. When you feel they have you in one corner, move to the other corner…”

That’s one example.

THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT THERE IS NO CORRECT DIRECTIVE. There is only utilizing whatever she does with it. What you said to her is neither correct nor incorrect. You could even have said, “I bet they get tired of this competition too. Maybe you could give them a vacation. I bet they’d like to go somewhere for a break. How about Alaska?”

I really like that you asked her for a drawing and symbol and to mention the interesting competitions. Nice assignment.

It doesn’t matter what she does or doesn’t do. What matters is that you see her next session like it is the first session you have ever had with her. Consider yourself a single session therapist. Utilize whatever she brings in, but you can use the assignment as a compass, a basis from which to steer discussion. If she gets distracted, ask her if she has ever eaten a “baked Alaska.” Discuss what an interesting contradiction a baked Alaska is because it would make more sense to have a frozen Alaska. This could lead to ice cream interventions, especially ice cream in combination with baked dishes.

The symbol could be placed in one corner of her house. What feeling is associated with Alaska: sad, angry, or another? Is it a frozen feeling? Or a baked Alaska feeling?

Good work. Keep on going!

Best,

Brad

I have just posted my recent paper, “Waking Up Your Hypnosis” to my personal website at robertmusikantow.com. Feel free to download, and let me know what you think. It is due to be published in the online journal, “Ouroborous”. Just click on “Papers” at the top. There should be a link there to download.

Just covered some general questions in this particular episode so both my questions and his responses are included. Feel free to respond with any comments or reactions you might have, as I am curious how my readers are responding.

Brad,

Hope this finds you are your family well.

Did the thing with the finger. When I added the happy face, and told her that bully’s don’t like happy faces. She laughed and thanked me. There is something about giving people something to do that is powerful, and humor, at least in this case was really an added bonus.

Some questions:

It seems that you favor doing tasks for most of your cases. I would like to add more doing to my sessions, but I can’t always think of things to do. So here is my question: how do you know what task to give? Even though you discuss going beyond theories and models you seem to have some model of how you work. Here is my understanding of your approach so far. Feel free to correct errors in my understanding.

Create tasks that add humor or absurdity to the situation.

Action is better than verbalization. Don’t just say you want a visionary dream, for example. Create a ritual with metaphorical components such as a string with bait to fish for a dream.

Wait to see what pops into your mind and offer that. You seem to quickly see what you want to offer to clients. How do I develop that skill?

Incorporate what the client  offers you.

Utilize feedback to alter and tailor your interventions.

Alter the client’s relationship to the, “symptom”. Accept then divert or trip up.

Final note: I am teaching an online course this Winter on, Theories of Psychotherapy”. Is it alright if I use a clip of one of the videos from, “The Creative Therapist”? I think the students might find it instructive. You might want to puts up some clips of your work on You Tube yourself. Good way to spread the word.

Best wishes

Kenney’s response:

Robert,

Yes, I always assign homework though I don’t always call it that. A colleague once pointed out that not everyone likes the metaphor of homework. It’s good to have a supply of others names when you prescribe action. For example, a “prescription for action medicine,” “crazy wisdom task,” Zen action koan,” “funny medicine” (for children), an “unusual test to see what happens,” an absurd depth probe,” some “therapeutic lightning,” “creative intervention,” “existential curve ball,” “a zany,” a “therapeutic weather balloon,” “action mojo,” “ritual,” “creative protocol,”out of the box theatrical performance,” “creative therapy,”  “creative action” .  .  .

How do I know what task to give? I start with any beginning and let it invent itself as it is presented. One exercise is to write down the key metaphors that a client presents in a session. Make a list on no more than 3-5 key words that they have actually uttered in a session. Then tie them together in any way so as to make an action prescription or construct a meaning that establishes a rationale for creative action. The metaphors make what you prescribe meaningful. Your unconscious wisdom ties it together in a way that stirs the creative crucible. If you suggest action that you don’t like once you hear it voiced outloud, then pause and say, I think there is something else that is even better for you. Then either modify it or start with a new one. Day dream some sessions and invent action tasks as a practice for developing this improvisational skill.

Some comments on the key ideas underlying my orientation that you outlined:

*Create tasks that add humor and absurdity to the situation. Yes, absurdity is vital in my therapy. The trick is to make it absurd enough to be able to help initiate a difference (different order of experience), but not too absurd so that it is rejected. It is usually better to make it too absurd than not absurd enough because you can come back and edit it. Or more importantly, evolve the frame that holds it. I regard the first two “acts” of therapy to a way of moving the “meaning” and “context” to a place where an absurd task now makes sense. The latter mobilies action in the service of creating a new reality.

*Acting is better than verbalization. Verbalization is action, but it isn’t always embodied. Action is primary. To know, first act. To change, first act. You can even record a session and have them do weird stuff to the tape that they carry out of the office with them. Have them listen to it while watching a particular movie or cartoon with the soundtrack turned off. They would see other action on the television screen accompanied by the session talk. Or they could bury the tape in the local dump or put it in a shoebox, set it on an altar, mail it to the CIA (just kidding, but maybe not) , or whatever.

*Yes, always pay attention to what “pops” especially what pops into your mind. If it doesn’t pop it is less likely to be an agent of transformation.

*Incorporate or UTILIZE what the client offers. Always. Arguably the most basic principle.

*Utilize feedback to alter and tailor interventions. Always. Arguably the other most basic principle. Utilize and improvise = creative therapy and creative living. Improvisation requires utilization – playing off of what was presented. And utilization requires improvisation – inventing a way to accept what has been created in order to keep things moving.

*Alter client’s relationship to the “symptom.” Broaden that to alter client’s relationship to their experience. Why fight your experience when you can utilize it to perform differently? It’s creative judo.

Yes, it is OK to use those video clips in you course.

I’m happy to hear about the happy finger.

Along those lines, maybe you could ask your students to watch the video with a third eye. Hand out a sticky paper of an eye and place it on their forehead. That way you are changing how they relate to experiencing a different way of being in therapy. Create the fantasy that the third eye is the creative eye.  Have them bring that third eye into their sessions. They might frame it and put in on the wall or carry it with them so that it can be held during sessions or rubbed like a talsiman. Invent stories for how the third creative therapy eye could make a difference in a session.

Maybe an eyeball could be drawn on the tip of your finger. Or an ear. For either client or therapist. Explore this as a group task in class.

All the best,

Brad

For anyone interested in hanging out, and listening to great local musicians. My son, playing under the name “Musikanto”, is playing at the Beat Kitchen on 12/18/09. The show starts at 9PM, my usual bed time, but I will be there ( I find a nap helps, and after a time a second wind kicks in). One free drink for all Chicago Psychology Members, just let me know if you are coming.

Here is a link to a very interesting article on a new book by psychologist Ellen Langer. Should be of interest to all hypnotists as well as positive psychology people. http://www.newsweek.com/id/193197?from=rss

Hi Robert,

Rather than think of a session as moving forward in a linear straight way from Act 1 to 2 & 3, think of it as being more like a piston: forward, back, forward, back. But each time it goes back it is different. It has been “complexified” by its previous presence in a different order of frame. It is actually less like a piston, and more like a recursive snake swallowing its own tail. It’s an Ouoborean loop. This is why I have called it recursive frame analysis.

Each time you move her into a so-called Act 2, it makes Act 1 easier to escape in the future. We want to be capable of slipping between frames. What we aim for is the ability and freedom to have slippage rather than being stuck.

My suggestion is go for reaching an act three in a session. Don’t worry about how long you stay in it, just try to move the conversation there. In the session you described about the bullies, you suggested she give them a “mental finger.” If she bought that, you could have then said maybe it should be a finger that is typically not used to give the finger. Have her choose another finger for those unseen bullies. Then she can actually physically shoot them that finger but it would not be seen as such in the real world. This starts getting inner and outer worlds mixed and interchangeable, which eventually leads to natural self-correction.  I am not saying to do this in the next session unless you get back into this sequence of movement.

Here’s some examples of fantasy therapeutic lines of a session that would play with this direction:

“How are the bullies? Are they pushing you around? Shoot them the bird, but use another finger for them. This way no one but you and them know what it means when you show it. I think you should consider the little finger and draw a happy face on its nail. Bullies hate happy faces.”

Possible bridge for moving to Act 3 if this theme is brought forth:

“I think you can use that little finger with a happy face to keep the bullies distracted. Let’s think about something you could do that they have been blocking you from achieving. But nothing too big, just a little something. Now when you try to do it, make sure that little finger is pointing straight up so they will get distracted. This way you can sneak around them and get something done without their interference.”

As far as not asking “What’s the problem?” It’s OK to ask it if you are INSPIRED to ask it. My objection is when it becomes a cliché. Then it has no life or creative juice. Variations include:

“I assume you have some ideas about your problem, but I am more interested in you doing something unexpected. Make up a problem that you don’t have. It should annoy you a little, but not too much nor too little.”

“Are there any problems that want to play today?”

“Did you ever have a problem that you became a friend with?”

“Let’s not call your problem a problem. Let’s call it a snike.”

“I am not interested in your problems. I am more interested in whether you are bored with your problems. You may need a more interesting problem. Be careful, solving it may knock the other one off the stage.”

If I were having session with your client today in my office, I might begin with this:

“Before you sit down I want you to leave the room and take a 15 minute walk. During this time, pretend that your whole life is changing. Imagine this happening whether or not you believe it. You are to act this out as if it were a stage performance. Look for an object during your walk that you regard as a “sign” or “symbol” that something amazing is going to happen to you. Bring it back with you in 15 minutes. It might me a leaf, pencil, piece of paper, stone, anything at all. This works best if you don’t think too much about it. Just do it and notice what you notice. See you in 15 minutes. Take 20 minutes if you need more time.”

All the best,

Brad

Hi Robert,

That’s a very interesting outcome when she became quiet as you addressed grandfather’s presence in an empty chair. I wonder if more empty chairs might come into the room with more presences. It’s also very interesting that she showed anger and fear when asked to wake up and participate in the world. Even more interesting that in the following session she was cheerful and eager to discuss waking up and what it meant. You have entered a resourceful scene: exploration of waking up. Congrats!

Some ideas: the previous session(s) used empty chairs to address people from the past. Perhaps now they could be used to address people from the future that could include her. Imagine having her watch you do a session with her in the future. You’d be able to reminisce on the time she first watched you have a session in the future. Can you make or get a big “dial” so you could turn it to simulate moving sessions back and forth in time? Sort of like a therapy time machine. I really like that idea. I’d be fascinated to see you mark an area in your office that is your time machine. It would hold two chairs – one you would sit in and the other for her future self. She would sit outside of it and watch you do sessions with her in the future.

Perhaps you could have four hanging cords, even a curtain. I’m not sure how you would theatrically set up a space that is marked as a different zone. But I do like the idea of a dial you can hold onto. Seriously. Take your therapy into the future.

How to get folks well? Have an imaginary ride with H. G. Wells.

I believe that your creative ritual using the book is precisely what you should do when you enter the time machine space. It can serve as a context shifter and an induction for a shift in the action. When you request creativity out loud, perhaps say, “I am asking for creativity from the future. Just like H. G. Wells, our imagination is the source of our creative well and being well.”  Do it in front of the client and tell them beforehand that you are trying an experimental method developed in conjunction with a well-known expert on creative therapeutic methods and altered states of consciousness. You can add that it isn’t important whether she understands it.

Totally excellent report about the client who became engaged and you said he “was now engaged with life.” Yes, the goal of all therapy is “full (or enhanced) engagement with life.”  Maybe you should have a box filled with toy rings to give to people at the moment you think they are ready to be engaged with life.  At such a moment, you could raise your hand and say “Excuse me, I heard, saw, and felt something just now. I think you may be ready to get engaged. I think life is asking you to be engaged with it. Do you accept this engagement proposal?”  Talk about it and then pull out an engagement ring. Make sure they know it is life and not you who is proposing!

I have also been thinking about a New Orleans conference. I am sure it will happen in some form.

What to do in general in therapy? Nothing. It’s all in the particular. Maybe that suggests doing something particularly unique for each general session. Why not open the dictionary at random in a session and see what word pops up. Give that word to the client and say it is the word you want to give to them this week. Do this when you feel you the need for a creative boost in a session.

As I mentioned earlier, I have been involved in mentoring with Bradford Keeney. The way this works is that I started with a phone call, followed by a series of e-mail exchanges. I thought my readers might find it interesting if I posted some of Bradford’s replies. I decided not to include my e-mails as I want to protect client confidentiality. Here are a few of his replies:

Hi Robert,

Of course you feel discouraged trying to move THIS client onto any solid ground. She’s a professional context shifter. You are one of her knights. You have served her well by showing that even a mighty professional of professionals cannot keep her out of her fairy tale. Now the opportunity is available for utilizing her expertise with defeating anyone who tries to save her from the dark and distressing forces of the forest. When she said, “today’s date was trying to guide her” I think that meant you. You were her date for that day. How clever of you to find its other hidden message regarding 9 months to gestate. It is a “baby game,” where one date after another tries to please their queen, impregnate her with new life, but only to find themselves back into the never ending fairy tale that has no end or beginning or middle. When you pointed it out, or came close to it, by addressing her feelings of fatness as a kind of pregnancy, note how she became very practical and stepped outside of the story. Very interesting: these dates she has with knights. If you get too far inside the forest, she steps out.

Yes she seeks protection, but not the kind anyone other than her grandfather could provide. I wonder how her grandfather would advise you. I am seeing a fantasy of my own. She comes to the next session. When she calls, you refuse to talk unless she comes to the office. Do not explain why other than saying it has to do with her grandfather. When she comes, there are two chairs facing one another. One chair has a glass of scotch (or colored water) near it. You immediately say, “I have failed.” Explain how have been trying to imagine having a conversation with her grandfather but are not creative enough to see or hear him talking to you. After all these sessions and years, you now know that only her grandfather was capable of protecting her. You and all other knights have failed. Unless you can somehow get some clues from him, you will continue feeling defeated and discouraged about your ability to help her. She will check you out and see whether you are playing. You have to enter this reality. Even talk to the grandfather’s chair (don’t let her sit in it) instead of her. Ask if he could try communicating in a different way because you aren’t strong enough to hear him.  I think you get the general idea.

No matter what direction she tries to go or what distraction she offers, you turn to grandfather and ask him what he would do. “I am helpless unless you tell me how to protect her.”  When she denies that he protected her (if she does that), say to Grandfather, “I especially don’t know what to say when she turns the table on me like that. She has defeated me again. I don’t think she defeated you. You were the strongest of all the knights…”

Utilize how she defeats you and all knights. Make it a new dark KNIGHT of the soul. Enter new territory where you use defeat as your mighty sword and grandfather as a stronger fiction than any other fictional episode she can intersperse. Maybe you become closer to her grandfather than she is. I bet you wish you had a grandfather like that. Who doesn’t? Find out more details about him so you can try to make a better connection with your fantasy of him. Even try to dream him. Tell her you will do this. You need as much information about him so you can establish a close link to him through your dreams. Fasten your seatbelt and sharpen the sword of your imagination!

Hail to the mighty knight of the circular thinking round table,

Brad

I anyone finds this interesting, I can post some more.

Here is a thought from the late great director Federico Fellini ” labels should go on suitcases, nowhere else.” What might this have to do with therapy?

Keeney has been an important figure in the field of family therapy and cybernetics for years, and has written a number of seminal books in the field. For a number of years, he dropped out of therapy, spending years doing field work with indigenous healers across the world.

Now he is back! What he is calling for is a therapy that is creatively alive. Here is a quote from his recent book, “The Creative Therapist” ” Creativity encourages inspired presence rather than stale imitation. It embraces the process of developing something new, uncommon, and unique…Rather than replicating or reproducing a template to be hammered onto every clinical session, creative therapy custom-builds a therapeutic encounter as the occasion call it forth. He goes on to describe what he calls a therapy jazz–a performance-based practice that, like music, requires technical know-how and familiarity with the rules of music in order to have the chops to make great improvisational music.