Natalia Levis-Fox & Steve Andreas
I am very lucky to be the
student and colleague of such outstanding professionals as Steve Andreas. For
11 years I work as his agent in Russian speaking publishing world.
Here is his newsletter I
got today.
“In the 2 ½ minute video
clip* below, you can view an example of a very elegant and rapid method** for
transforming a troublesome response to an inner voice, developed by Mel Davis
in the UK
Notice that although she is
very aware of her feeling shifts, she has no conscious perception or
understanding of how they were elicited.
Since
most problems are caused by unconscious processing, effective change work must
involve changes in the unconscious aspects of our experiencing. Despite this, a
great deal of “talk therapy” is directed at developing “insight” or other
conscious understandings.
In the video clip I first
set the frame that all parts or aspects of ourselves have a positive intent,
and then offer her a series of instructions—some verbal, and some
nonverbal—directed at changing nonverbal aspects of her experience of the
sentence.
Writing what she says to
herself on the flip chart transfers the auditory dialogue into a visual
experience of the words, which tends to remove the nonverbal tonality.
Changing “can’t” into “can
not” changes a constricting modal operator of impossibility into one of
possibility and choice—she can always choose to not do
it.
I also write her sentence
in a way that punctuates it differently, separating it into three pieces: “I
can,” “not,” and “do it.”
Finally,
I change the tonality of the first piece into a confident statement, the second
piece into a rhetorical question, and the third into a command.
All
these interventions change nonverbal aspects of her sentence in order to
elicit changes in her feeling response to it.
In contrast, Cognitive
Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which is widely considered the treatment of choice
when working with internal dialogue—especially with anxiety or depression—is
entirely directed toward the words of an internal voice. CBT identifies and
verbally challenges cognitive distortions, such as overgeneralization
(“always,” “never”), “shoulds” (modal operators of necessity), either/or
polarized thinking, jumping to conclusions, etc. (here’s
a more complete list).
CBT has the most research
supporting its effectiveness—though that is in the context of multiple
sessions, usually ten or more. Some of its most well-known proponents are Aaron
Beck, his daughter Judith Beck, and David Burns.
However, the words that
someone says to themselves are usually much less emotionally troublesome than the
nonverbal elements of how the words are spoken—the tempo, pitch,
intonation, accent, pauses, etc. that occur with the spoken word.
A familiar example is that
in English a question is indicated by a rising tonality at the end of the
sentence, a command has a sinking tonality at the end, and a statement does not
shift at the end. If you ask a question with a sinking pitch at the end, it
will be responded to as a command. If you make a statement with a rising pitch
at the end it will be responded to as a question.
Notice how you feel in
response to hearing a hard, screeching, high-pitched voice saying the words, “I
love you.” Or try hearing a soft, deep, slow, “smiling” voice saying, “You son
of a bitch.” Most people will respond much more strongly to the nonverbal
qualities than to the words.
Another example of the
importance of the nonverbal is that a fast tempo indicates urgency, while a
slow tempo indicates the opposite. This is the basis for Nick
Kemp’s method for changing the anxiety created by an internal voice with a fast
tempo.***
These nonverbal components
often indicate the relationship between the speaker and listener. If an
ordinary sentence like, “Please pass the salt” is said in a superior or
scornful tone of voice, that tonal quality is what elicits the troublesome
emotional response. Most people are usually much less consciously aware of
these nonverbal elements, which are largely processed and responded to
unconsciously.
Although I have read fairly
widely in CBT, and have watched client sessions and videotaped talks by major
proponents, I have yet to find any CBT methods that are directed toward
eliciting changes in the nonverbal aspects of a troublesome internal voice. If
you know of any such CBT interventions, please email me with specific examples
or links to examples: andreas [at] qwest.net.
*This
video clip is excerpted from an online video training in methods for resolving
complex PTSD entitled The PTSD Training.
**There
are many more examples of Mel Davis’ method, in chapter 11 of my bookTransforming
Negative Self-Talk. (Click on the “Look inside the book” feature and sample parts of
the book free.)
Norton has recently
published a sequel, MORE Transforming Negative
Self-Talk. (Again you can click on the “Look inside
the book” feature and sample parts of the book free.)
Both
books have many additional ways to change nonverbal
aspects of an internal self-talk to elicit changes in emotional response very
rapidly.”
Heal your problems with NLP, fast and
easily
P.S. I have
two consulting days in Rome ,
Italy
Languages: English, French, Russian
Email: love.formula.book@gmail.com
Love,
Natalia Levis-Fox
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