Act out how you stop yourself feeling

When you shut down a feeling before it arrives, play the part that does the stopping, then answer it from the other chair.

Por que funciona

Greenberg distinguishes a second kind of split, the self-interruption, in which one part blocks another's feeling or expression: swallowing tears, going numb, telling yourself "don't make a fuss". Because the blocking is usually automatic, it is hard to notice, let alone change. In two-chair enactment the person deliberately acts out how they stop themselves, in words and in the body, which turns an automatic squeeze into something they are doing and can feel. The interrupted side can then respond, often with the feeling that was held back.

Como fazer

1. Notice a moment when a feeling started and vanished (a lump in the throat that went nowhere, anger that turned flat).
2. Sit in one chair and become the part that stops it. Show how you do it: tighten, hold your breath, and say its words ("Shut up. Nobody wants to see that.").
3. Exaggerate it a little so you can feel the effort involved.
4. Move to the other chair and tell the stopping part what it is like to be shut down, and what you want to do instead.

Evidência

Two-chair enactment for a self-interruption split is a separate task in Greenberg, Rice and Elliott's 1993 manual, and Greenberg and Watson describe two-chair enactments for blocked emotion in their book on emotion-focused therapy for low mood. It is a clinical method; no trial of the enactment on its own was found. (clinical)

Feelings that have been held back for a long time can come with force. Go slowly, and if you feel flooded, lose track of where you are, or images will not settle, stop and do this work with a trained therapist. Some interruptions protect you for good reasons; the aim is choice, not forcing feelings out.

Fontes

• Greenberg, L. S., Rice, L. N., & Elliott, R. (1993). Facilitating Emotional Change: The Moment-by-Moment Process. Guilford Press. (Ch. 10, Two Chair Dialogue at a Self-Evaluative Split; Ch. 11, Two Chair Enactment for Self-Interruption Split.)
• Greenberg, L. S., & Watson, J. C. (2006). Evoking blocked emotion: Two-chair enactments and unfinished business dialogues. In Emotion-focused therapy for depression (pp. 251-280). American Psychological Association.
• Kellogg, S. (2004). Dialogical encounters: Contemporary perspectives on "chairwork" in psychotherapy. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 41(3), 310-320.

Erro comum

Trying to override the block by sheer will ("just let it out"). The enactment works by making the stopping visible and giving it a voice; pushing past it usually makes the shutdown faster next time.