Q: Sometimes I get frustrated trying to think of just the right gimmick that will work with this client.
A: Rather than trying to find a gimmick that will work to change him, keep in mind that whatever enactment, question, technique, interpretation, or therapeutic style you choose, the intervention itself is unimportant. Your task is to illuminate, then work with, his response. Use your frustration to assist you in intervening.

Q: He does not want to talk about the past. He wants only to concentrate on the present and on the future.
A: Remember that the past is represented in the present. How-he- was will be mirrored by how-he-is. Remember, in his mind, you are in an dramatization (a re-enactment) of one of his relationships just by being in the room.

Q: When a client says how great I am, sometimes part of me enjoys taking credit even though I know they are responsible for their own healing.
A: Of course; you’re a normal human. However when you claim as true, the things he likes about you, then it seems only fair that you claim as true, the things he does not. I suggest: instead of taking on anything someone else believes about you, take credit for what you actually do:

Q: Sometimes I’m scared when I’m with this person. It’s easy to succumb to that fear, then shut down and do minimal therapy. It’s hard to push forward.
A: And if you’re scared, assume there is danger. Of course, it’s most likely that the danger is coming from you, not from her.

Q: I keep having an agenda for people. Deep down I want them to get better. Say some stuff that will convince me to stop it.
A.: I find that amusing. You are asking me to do the very thing you think you shouldn’t do. There is nothing I or anyone can say that will change your inner should/want system until you are ready.

Q: What if someone wants to know how he is progressing?
A: If he simply wants your professional viewpoint, schedule an evaluation session. An evaluation session is not an ordinary therapeutic session, although it can be very therapeutic. It is a time for both of you to summarize resolved and unresolved issues, therapeutic goals, and your guesses as to the course the therapy will take if it continues.

Q: Her life is in turmoil. Her children do this; her parents do that. Her career is a mess. It seems like she needs help and advice more than therapy.
A: Possibly so. If your preferred mode of assistance is service, then by all means trust yourself and advise as needed. However, if you choose to be a psychotherapist, the person she needs help and advice from, is…(guess who?) Herself! As you describe the situation, her children, her parents, and her career are all content. Each is both a stage on which she acts out her life drama, and a prop in her play.

Q: She wants to know whether to leave her partner or not. I don’t know what to tell her.
A: You can tell her whatever you like, as long as you don’t have an opinion. That way, whatever you tell her will be an intervention, not an intrusion.

Q: When she remembered . . . , I got a figurine and did an enactment for that. Then she said . . . , so I set up some balls and pillows and did an enactment of that. How could I set up an enactment for . . . ?
A: Enactments often include the use of objects, but the essence of an enactment has nothing to do with stuff, and they do not always need to be “set up.” The lovely thing about an enactment is that it is an experiential way to invite process into awareness.

Q: Sometimes I’ll start an enactment and then forget the thought that propelled me to set it up in the first place. Or, I have no idea what to do with the enactment once it is set up. If I try to analyze or figure out what I am doing, I get even more stuck.
A: And the more often you forget your original thought, the more anxious you are that you might get stuck. And the more anxious you are that you might get stuck, the more stuck you get. Is that right?