Two major characteristics of co-counselling are encouragement of Discharge and an extensive collection of 'try doing this' suggestions which have been shown to act as aids to discharge. Both these features originally arose from a trial and error approach. In the present account, however, we will consider these practical techniques from the feelings-map viewpoint--that is, from a particular theoretical perspective.
As already noted, people can discharge when they have a balance of attention and are, or can become, bodily aroused (and vice versa). Indeed the co-counselling point of view suggests that whenever these conditions arise we are likely to discharge spontaneously. Think of a child who falls off a swing. She runs to her father and, once he's hugging her, cries. Adults socialized into the ways of a non-cathartic culture sometimes surprise themselves, and others, by sudden tears. "But I was so happy," they say. Happy enough to have lots of free attention, and so be able to acknowledge some related Distress, maybe?
Be that as it may, most people often lack a Balance of Attention and the ability to allow or generate bodily arousal. This applies in everyday life, and can apply in counselling sessions. Consequently a number of techniques facilitating discharge have evolved within the co-counselling framework. In Part III of this Manual examples of these methods are grouped under the heading, Helping Discharge Happen. From the feelings-map viewpoint we can say that such techniques provide ways of moving people across their feelings-space to the 'discharge encouraging' region.
First a reminder of the feelings-map representation of the Balance of Attention and its elements.
Often however, people do not wish to be reminded of their Distresses. (It is after all painful.) In the extreme this may take the form of denial of having Distress unless they are immersed in it. "Nothing's wrong with my life; I'll never get depressed again!" Note that this is not the same as maintaining attention out of Distress in order to get on with the immediate life task. Denial is a useful coping mechanism, but can be self defeating if used continuously. It does nothing to prevent the Distress happening again.
People wishing to use counselling time to break up patterns and to minimize the chances of being restimulated in the future often need help to re-experience the Distress. Where there is insufficient awareness of Distress, to balance attention, awareness must to extended to include Distress. Thus:
Various ways of assisting such a movement across our feelings-space are listed in Part III of this Manual, under the heading Helping Discharge Happen: Focusing on Specifics. This focusing on specific events which were distressing, in the safety of a counselling session, may be quite sufficient to encourage Discharge. Often however we will need to become more aware of our Distress, and also to become more bodily aroused.
Techniques which combine awareness focusing and arousal in this way are listed as Helping Discharge Happen: Going with Negative Feelings.
Other useful techniques aim to directly generate a balance of attention by making use of paradox and contradiction.
Look under Helping Discharge Happen: Going Against the Negative Feelings to find examples of these powerful paradoxes.
Some of these techniques also serve another function: that of disrupting 'Control Patterns.' That is, of interfering with those little tricks people have learned, usually quite unknowingly, that prevent them from being aware of their feelings. Many control patterns involve chronic muscular tensions. For instance if Richard watches a police-show on TV he either feels scared, sweats and shivers, or feels bored, and gets a gut ache and a sore back. Consequently relaxation may be used to allow people to become aware of their Distresses. Of course, other control patterns may well involve an inability to become bodily involved. In this latter situation the patterns can be challenged not by relaxing but by direct bodily arousal.
For an interesting discussion of the use of Balance of Attention by dramatists, see Tom Scheff's book (#6).
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