Integrating SE into our existing practice (part 2)

By Bríd Keenan (Gestalt psychotherapist, supervisor, trainer and SE Senior Assistant)

To reiterate, the relationship between SE and my existing practice is a process of discovery with awkwardness (activation), sheer delight (deactivation) and a sense of ease (integration).  This process takes time and reflection.  It can’t be rushed nor programmed. 

Whatever your modality, SE provides a methodology for working directly with the nervous system in the integration of traumatic impacts as they appear in the present moment. Each of us has to discover the presence of SE in our own practice. 

There are various ways of mapping the work, take for example one SE concept, the energy wells, and you’ll choose one more relevant to your modality. I’d like to outline my approach which has only emerged as such with the benefit of hindsight and writing about it!

The “ping moment”

I like the “ping moment” i.e. the sudden appearance of potential areas of exploration.  My mind goes in these directions, like flares on a dark road. It does not mean I start applying any of these!  This allows my speculation at the beginning of a session.  What gets “pinged” for you?

What is always present when I work with any of the above are, what I call, the basics:

• Setting the initial conditions (being aware of co-regulation, resonance ) supports orientation for both of us. This allows me space to notice the client’s activation and deactivation.
• Holding space for  deactivation via orientation, tracking, titration pendulation, deactivation and integration)
• Staying curious connects me to the process of the client and lets me stay close to the client’s language, physiological response.  Trying to anticipate or solve the client’s response, distances them.
• A cautionary note:  not making anything happen through the application of these skills. 
• Using process language keeps me present centred and connected i.e. verb forms in -ing, referencing each and both of us regularly,  using “now” , simple sentences and regulated tone. Words like ‘anxious’, ‘nervous’, ‘shy’, as well as any prior assessment, diagnosis, or my own bias, take me away from the client. 

SIBAM

SIBAM supports the client to connect the channels of “knowing” and to track the nervous system in an organised way and to begin to trust their sensations. The slow unfolding of the levels of whole experience, shows me not just what might be happening but how it is happening i.e. the nervous system is organising for whatever is then named eg ‘anger’ or expressed by a gesture. 

Orientation

Orientation is how the person finds the external more interesting than the internal (Hoskinson, 2013). The client is risking connection when they come to see us whilst orientated to the past event. I am curious about what the client is orientating to and for how long as they gradually “show up”, and if they include me. Orientation is always helpful when the client is becoming overwhelmed.

Survival Pattern

I track patterns. The survival pattern, which emerges from the creative adjustment the client is recurring in the client’s life.  Unlike other therapies which explore the problem, in SE survival is always the starting point providing access to the counter vortex and increased capacity. 

Orientation to health

The counter-vortex supports greater regulation and therefore health. We are concerned with how easily the client can access this and for how long. I explain how both trauma patterns and access to capacity for greater are both present at the same time (River of Life). This discussion de-pathologises the experience of trauma.  We can then develop an agreed way to talk about activation and deactivation.

Verbal and Somatic memory

I am always aware of the co-existence, in the moment, of the verbal and somatic memory and I talk to the client about how to notice these.  I regularly ask how the story sounds as the client tells it to me now.  I will (gracefully) interrupt and therefore include myself in the habitual story.  I want to let the client know that they are not alone.  I might ask how a certain aspect of the story is experienced by the client (SIBAM).  At appropriate times I will use the T-Model.

Over- and under-coupling

I think of these patterns as the way the client illustrates overwhelm, as manifestations of the unfinished self-protective response.

In the over-coupling pattern, I imagine a ball of wool (stories or physiological responses) completely entangled. If I or the client notice a pattern or a moment of interest, I invite the client to take a little time to notice what happens to the sense of overwhelm when they can pause and explore.  (SIBAM)

Under-coupling when connections are not made. I imagine the client in a dark room with a pinhead torch switching on and of erratically.  I might ask if the client experiences connection or mention a connection I have noticed.  I’m inviting the client to explore connection. (SIBAM)

So just to recap: this is a voyage of discovery. In the landscape of our work, we know that there are various maps, for example: the River of Life, the Energy Wells, the Activation/Deactivation Cycle, SIBAM, the Window of Tolerance, etc.  Our basic skills are at play regardless of which map is in use i.e. orientation, titration, pendulation, deactivation and integration, T-model and so on.  Our way of being in the work e.g. awareness of your own nervous system, co-regulation, attending and attunement, in my experience, is the first intervention in support of  connection and contact.  What emerges in support of the client's regulation, is always the result of an experiment.  The only way to assess the work is to risk the experiment!

Hoskinson, S. (2013-15). ISE training programme.