SESSIONS
Introduction
Voice Dialogue is an excellent tool to discover the complexity of our personality; to explore, understand and integrate the different aspects of our psyche. We can create more clarity about any issue we are struggling with. This can be an important decision, relationship issues, problems at work, physical symptoms, dreams, spiritual emergencies etc.
Individual Sessions
After an initial conversation about the particular issues at hand, the client is supported to get in touch with the different sub-personalities that impact on the situation. Each self is approached with mindfulness, non judgement, humour and compassion. Often the more dominant parts are present first, sub-personalities we mainly identify with and have developed for protection and control. The facilitator asks the client to find a physical space in the room where that particular part would like to be and then starts an in depth conversation with this self. This allows the client to feel the particular energy directly and become aware of the thoughts, feelings and body symptoms that are specific to this sub-personality.
Other selves are explored in a similar fashion, some are dominant and in charge, others seem lost, judged or suppressed. During the process we keep coming back to the initial place where the client was sitting. In this neutral space they learn to hold the tension of the opposite energies and experience their personality in a much more balanced way. From this awareness centre the client can expand their ability to make conscious choices instead of reacting in automatic and repetitive patterns.
Relationship Dialogue
Voice Dialogue offers couples an exciting new way of looking at relationships. Often we are attracted to someone who is very different to us, who carries our opposites. This attraction frequently changes to a negative reaction, we start to polarise and withdraw. The potential of these relationships lie in the opportunity to learn from the other, to become each other’s teacher.
During a couple session the facilitator supports each partner to explore the reaction patterns they are involved in, to find the selves that operate in this dance and to create more conscious ways of being together. Learning to communicate from a more aware and centred place each individual can come to a new way of relating.
Professional Supervision
The difficulties we experience in our work with clients often relate back to our own personality patterns. We especially react to people who carry our opposites and behave in ways we don’t understand or judge. We often lose our professional centre in these situations, reacting automatically from our protective patterns. Voice Dialogue supports us to become aware of these dynamics and helping us to grow into more balanced human beings and effective facilitators. Supervision also provides the opportunity to learn new techniques and skills to work in more creative ways.
“My vulnerable self has come home at last and I have so much compassion for her. Whilst having some ‘me’ time this evening I was able to explore a bit more what happened during the session. I found myself sticking my fingers up to those other selves that have until now been functioning to protect my vulnerable self. Now I am able to love her, I can protect her and whilst I may still listen to my inner critic, prosecutor, judge, analyst, ‘dizzy dalmation protection device’ etc, they have lost their power, at least for now (hello, Mr Sceptic!).
I wanted to have something that would represent her, something I can look at and hold (eg. a piece of lovely material, a smooth pebble, a childhood toy), then it came to me suddenly that she is already in me, in my heart and soul, that she has always been there and in fact as I was thinking and feeling this, I noticed I was touching my heart! I spent some time hugging her and crying, so glad that we have connected with each other after so much time apart and yet so sad that we have been apart for so long.”
Sara, Tasmania