Therapy is like a roller-coaster

I was chatting to a client recently and I wanted to explain therapy in an analogy, clear and concise and really connective. Something she could remember and take away and think about and then apply it to her life.

Hypnotherapy is all about getting people to change their perception of something, and the best way of doing this is to put something visually in their mind. Give them a visualisation that can then go and work on a number of levels.

I thought I'd share with you what my analogy was.  It happened to be a very significant and powerful one as it turned out.

Therapy is like a roller-coaster.  

When you strap yourself in to the seat, part of you really wants the ride, to see what its like and to experience it. The other part is fighting telling you to not be so stupid and get the hell off!

Then as the car you're in starts its climb, you feel that increase of adrenalin, further and further you climb further and further the feelings of anticipation and even discomfort arise. You don't like it, you might want to get off, but you know that you can't and that can be pretty scary.

You reach the top, that part where they always shunt you forward a little till you're in that zone where they are going to drop you off into the unknown....and every part of you is on edge.  Your heart beats faster, you might want to cry...you hold your breath, resisting the inevitable.

Then, for just a split second, as you go over the top, you are weightless....suspended in air, absolutely free, it's breathtaking, nothing holding you down...It's like there has been a huge release of all of that negative energy.

Then in an instant you're dashing back down to the bottom and you're back on the even track, maybe feeling slightly out of control, but you know you are safe.

You're not sure exactly what to expect next, but it feels different because you know you have choices. It is in this time, the time when the car is slowing down, that you make decisions about where you'd like to go next.

Do you stay on board going round and round? or do you get off as it comes to a stop, go back out into the theme park and take stock of what else is out there? See what other rides you can get on.

Ultimately you get left with choices. but this time, they are choices you are in control of. So when you chose to go on the next ride, the fear is much less and the enjoyment is much more!

Therapy is very much like that. But if you never get on the ride in the first place, you're never going to find out just what else is out there for you to enjoy.

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