Thinking

The evolution of our ability to think has enabled us to create complex systems such as language and maths that have in turn empowered us to understand many of the mysteries of the universe and build and create beautiful and useful things. Approaches such as computational  neuroscience (see video below) are helping us better understand how our brains efficiently process vast quantities of information as they actively construct our lived experiences.

Yet the amazing predictive powers of our brains can sometimes let us down:

• We can develop unhelpful thinking habits.

• Our adaptive information processing ability can be impacted by trauma and upsetting events.

• Certain parts of our identity can exert undue influence e.g. parent and child states in Transactional Analysis and manager and fire-fighter parts in Internal Family Systems.

While many counselling and psycho-education interventions can support positive movement in the above areas, these three important therapeutic principles guide my work and may help you move from being the metaphorical actors in your life-movies to being the guiding authors and directors as well.

Changing your words (Authoring)

The stories we tell ourselves (our beliefs about the world) usually emerge from our past experiences, but these valuable predictive models can get out of date, snaring us in unhelpful nets of beliefs that prevent us from making positive changes. Useful strategies that can support adaptive reprogramming of our beliefs and predictions with real-time, here and now data include:

• The fourth Perspective step of STOPP.

• The B and C steps of the Thoughts and Feelings Plus balance [Secure client resources].

Changing your relationship to your words (Directing)

When our thoughts and feelings are fused together, they're like a solid blob that has to be true because this precious, solid, emotionally intense and compelling creation is reality, right? This can be a valuable question to ponder. Cognitive defusion practices can help us to tease apart and gain a more spacious relationship with our thoughts, feelings and needs. Mindfulness is, in my hopefully nicely balanced view, a defusion super power. Check out these supporting resources:

• Awareness: Another word for mindfulness and listening.

• The Breathing Space and third Observe step of STOPP on the self-help page.

• The A step of the Thoughts and Feelings Plus balance [Secure client resources].

Self-compassion (Gently smiling) 

With practice, we can get better at using kind and pragmatic self-talk and witnessing and directing our thoughts with healing kindness.