Internal Exploration
It is particularly important, when supporting self-perception, to explore cross connections between the different forms of experience; thoughts, feelings, internal images, physical sensations as well as motor-impulses are connected, and one can encourage the client to ‘inspect’ them. “If this anxious feeling occurs, what else is happening in you? What can be noticed physically? What thoughts arise at that time? What would you most like to do? How would you show me with a gesture what you feel? How do you communicate your fear to others? What would you like to do with me? How does your expression change when you feel fear? What happens to your breathing? How could you calm yourself? Have you noticed how your posture changed when you spoke about your fear?”
The possibilities of interventions which help the client to explore are endless. But most clients need support in this, because otherwise they only ‘speak’ about their concerns, i.e. the perception of the client remains diffuse. In such a case, one important guiding process would not be utilised, thus having an impact on the effectiveness of the counselling.