Pragmatics of Change - A Multitude of Problems
Tinnitus, Depression and Physical Illness – Feeling Very Low.In this session, the client presents a complex set of problems principally revolving around tinnitus (ringing in the ears), depression, a serious blood disorder and problems with excessive alcohol intake.
With limited time, Andrew T. Austin chooses first to work with the depression aspect, followed by the excessive alcohol before exploring the tinnitus experience. Early in the session, the client demonstrates clearly “being at effect” – i.e. in tune with the effects that these problems have upon his life and his day to day experience – but he struggles with finding “cause.” Like so many people who have suffered chronic problems, his experience reflects that problems just happen to him and that the solutions are outside of conscious control.
Ignoring the tangential thinking that the client presents, Austin persistently sticks with the structured interview, a structure of which the client is clearly unaware. Austin guides the client inward to eventually enable him to begin to examine his own personal mental strategies. This stage is not reached before the client clearly begins to feel quite uncomfortable and challenged by the nature of the session. As Austin teaches his students, “sometimes you just need to be comfortable yourself with other people’s discomfort.”
Viewers will note the unusual way in which the session ends – it just stops and the client is dismissed quickly despite the worsening of a particular symptom. Austin claims that in this instance this is a vital therapeutic manoeuvre and not just a function of the necessity of time constraints. He says he will leave it to the viewer to workout the exact reason for this.
DVD: 54mins.
