Brief and In-Depth was developed by Robert Bosnak, Heyong Shen, and Jill Fischer; it draws upon Jungian psychoanalytical methodology and brief therapy. Brief and In-Depth (BID) uses the Embodied Imagination method to explore a core issue presented by the client. Such core issues might have to do with events from childhood, chronic illness, personal growth, interpersonal relationships, or anything at all. This method of working places the therapeutic trajectory in the hands of the imaginal. Perhaps it is the presence, and voice of the imaginal that invigorates BID, accelerating a process that tends to take much longer when using conventional analysis alone.
One cannot predict what content will emerge from the depths of the unconscious or imagination. BID, by means of embodiment, places much awareness on the felt sense. The body becomes the focal point of the phenomenal experience.
To quote from Peter Levine, “…the body’s felt sense allows physiological access to procedural memories. These are the crucial implicit memories that cognitive approaches simply don’t engage and cathartic approaches frequently override and overwhelm.”
BID invariably opens one’s eyes to the significance of dream images and uncovers insights into our deeper nature. During the eight to ten weeks over which BID takes place, the client’s original intention tends to morph and develop according to the outcome of each session. This form of work is designed to primarily make use of dreams, although if a client struggles to recall their dreams, then episodic memories are used.
The following hypothetical case provides a glimpse into the BID experience:
A woman called Susan, aged 40, finds herself repeating patterns of behaviour which are causing havoc in her life. Although she is aware of the behaviour, she can’t seem to stop it. She also has no idea on the source of the behaviour. It feels as though her self-destructive patterns are stronger than her own volition.
To approach such a case, we begin by clarifying Susan’s intention. Perhaps her intention is to uncover the source of her self-destructive patterns. Taking this intention as the North star, we would look at prominent memories that exemplify the issue. These episodic memories could be considered as the prima materia for her BID therapy. Susan could bring one or two memories in which the frustration at being helpless to stop her unwanted behaviour is strongly present. What follows could be dream incubation or purely memory work using the Embodied Imagination method.
Susan begins having dreams of being disembodied and floating in a dark terrain. It feels uncomfortable and there is anxiety.
In an alchemical context, such a dream can be seen as corresponding with the nigredo phase. The nigredo signifies the initial place of being stuck and becoming aware that something has been hiding in the darkness (unconscious). While working with such a dream we might consider embodying the sensations and feelings of floating in that dark place. It is important to begin working from a safe image, to create the space to encounter the more challenging images. The embodied states from that experience would be used as anchor points. Anchor points are a combination of images, felt sensations, feelings, and parts of the body. The anchor points are held together in a composite, which creates a complex system. The composite that comes together from each session is used to set the stage for the following session. This is a powerful way of bringing up implicit memories which lie below the level of consciousness. By slowing down, and focusing on bodily sensations, a ground-up process is initiated. Such a process may yield unforeseen realizations and new information from the unconscious. This information is naturally integrated and frequently plays a role in re-framing memories and perspectives. The value of slowing down was cleverly illustrated by Korzybski using a handheld, battery-operated fan. He pointed out that while the fan is spinning, we observe a disc. It is only by slowing down the ‘disc’ that we perceive that in actuality, it is a fan.
After working (incubating) with the composite from the previous dream, Susan has another dream. She dreams of a river that has flooded its banks and is washing away an old school building. All this takes place while her dream self is watching from up in a treehouse.
The imagery from this dream is no longer reflecting the nigredo, and now seems to correspond with the albedo stage. In alchemy, the albedo stage represents a step towards making things conscious. Although the alchemical process is hardly linear, and rarely so clear cut, it does provide a metaphorical utility during BID. While numerous personal revelations may arise during the course of the BID therapy, often the significant changes only take place in the weeks that follow.
There is no coming to consciousness without pain – Carl Jung
References
Levine, P.A (2015). Trauma and Memory: Brain and Body in a Search for the Living Past. North Atlantic Books.
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