"Nothing Worked"

A green facilitator might suppose that it is the words of her techniques that are working for the client. So, if you just give the correct words to the client, everything will be fine. Nope, that is not how it works. The facilitator needs to be there with the client, and she needs to be responsible for what goes on, beyond any prepared techniques that she knows of.

A facilitator that comes back after a session and says triumphantly "I did everything I was supposed to, but nothing worked." has not gotten the first thing about processing. Or, rather she has demonstrated it well. The most valuable thing you can do for a person is to be there and be interested in them. That is the first thing you do with a client. You sit down, and you are there. You become interested in the person in front of you, and you intend to help them. Doing so is up to you while you are in session. You might have studied all kinds of theories, but all of them really matter very little compared with how this exact client matters. The words on your papers, the diagrams in your textbooks are not what is important then. They were important when you were studying. When you are in session, the client is important, nothing else.

Maybe the first couple of times you use a new technique, you might be doing it kind of mechanically. Maybe you are overly obsessed with getting the wording right and following the procedure exactly. No big deal, you need to get your feet wet to see how it works. But if you don't get the expected result with the client, don't blame the technique. Exercising a new technique probably has taken away from the attention you gave the client, and you didn't respond to what she really needed.

There is never any excuse for not dealing with the client. The techniques as they are written up certainly aren't a valid excuse. They are no replacement for dealing with the actual person.

Additionally, "Nothing happened" is never a valid report. You always do something with a client. She always responds somehow. None of it might be what was intended or desired, but for sure SOMETHING happened. If you notice what went on, you can use that information to know what to do next. Just rattling off a bunch of procedures and not noticing anything is a waste of everybody's time.



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