Arousal Level and Mobilisation
“Yes …, actually I would like to …”. In the processing of needs regulation, a large role is played by how much strength, how much unambiguity, how much inner arousal, how many organismic mobilisations lie ‘behind’ the need. Younger children usually do this as a matter of course: “I want an ice-cream!”, “No”, “But I want one!”, “No, not before dinner!”, “But I feel like an ice-cream now!”, “No!”, “My friend Lucas always gets one before eating!” etc. If clients want to get in touch with a need once more, they must often be prepared to mobilise energy, as well. Otherwise they will give up with the first ‘no’. From a counselling technique viewpoint, this means that one must pay attention to how much strength the client is investing or holding back. The brief question: “What percentage of your strength is in your voice at the moment?” is often sufficient to draw the attention of the client to the fact that, at the moment, more mouse than man is at play.