I don’t want to wander.

• +..wobbly whimsey


• +..techno


• +.. Burial

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Th: Are you aware of feeling anxious? Pt: No. [Defense: denial. The patient is tense head to toe and looks terrified.] Th: Do you notice tension in your shoulders? Pt: Yes. Th: That’s a sign of anxiety. [Continue to point out symptoms of anxiety in the patient’s body for a minute.] Pt: I’m like this most of the time, but it’s no big deal. [Defense: ignoring.] Th: So you ignore your anxiety most of the time. [Identify the defense.] Pt: There’s no sense making a big deal of it. [Defense: rationalizes using the defense of ignoring.] Th: Now you try to justify ignoring your anxiety. [Identify the defense.] But if we ignore your anxiety, it will get worse. Shall we pay attention to your anxiety? [Invite the patient to let go of the defense of ignoring.] Pt: I have no idea. [Defense: empties his head.] Th: We’ve got a problem here. A part of you wants to get to the bottom of this anxiety and find out what’s been driving this terrible anxiety. [Healthy wish.] Another part of you doesn’t want to look at this, wants to tune out, and is dominating our work right now. [Point out the conflict.] Pt: What do you mean? [Does not see how emptying his mind blocks the therapeutic task.] Th: You want to get to the bottom of the anxiety, right? Pt: That’s why I’m here.
Jon, Frederickson.