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From: Marjorie Rosenthal Foer
Date: 10/6/02
Time: 9:55:53 AM
Remote Name: 140.186.33.86
Hi Michelle, Well, I just started another response to you, which may be lost in cyperspace, or may show up somehow.. anyway, I judge success by the client's definition of success and my own too. If the client believes that they have reached their personal best, and they are satisfied with how they are communicating in any and all situations, then I am satisfied too. I am not looking for a percentage of fluency since that may not be the client's goal. Somebody may want to keep a bit of stuttering around as an old friend, a part of their identity that they may not want to say good-bye to. It may be like a gentle reminder of "who they used to be and how they don't want to totally return there", but a "keep up the positive thinking" reminder for any given situation.
As for a guided journey, it depends on the client. I start by darkening the room some, and having the client close their eyes. They learn how to tense and relax their msucles, and take at least three deep breaths. Then I set the scene. An example may be having a youngster "go on a trip to the moon" That way they get out of their left brain and go into their right brain, leaving most of the criticism and judgement behind and tapping into their creative minds. I may give the person a specific assignment to be the hero of the day and be in charge of the spaceship, responding to calls from NASA and the TV stations for interviews about his progress, plus of course calls from home and friends. The child could meet with aliens, rip his spacesuit or have rocket fuel problems, but he is always responsible for solving the problems in a successful way. I have found that one 10 year old always encountered the most disasterous, near death experiences early in the guided journey expiditions. I would do the initial setting the scene, after he chose moon, or Mars or a planet of his own imagination and no matter how pleasant and fun I tried to make any journey, he turned it into a personal survival mission with very terrifying excounters. Now though, he is only imaging very delightful, fun and empowering places to be. He has become positive and insightful with his journeys.
All the best,
Marjorie