A well known idea in the practice of clinical hypnosis and the utilisation of trance is :

'that which is focused upon, and payed attention to, will amplify'.

This is a fact that is counted upon for many approaches to both trance induction and utilisation. Yet the idea is not only limited in its usefulness to clinical work, its scope of application and relevance can be seen to extend across multiple areas of our lives. A simple example can easily demonstrate this....

I'd invite you, as you read the words on this page to slow down, and take a moment and begin to pay attention to your body,as you sit on a chair and look at your computer screen or while you look at your phone or tablet....and as you do this you might start to become aware of your left hand.............and, as you focus upon this you can take the time to really get a sense for the feeling that you are aware of, in your left hand...its shape its form, its texture,, .....and as you deepen this focus you might begin to notice a finger that feels different from the rest and as you notice this you could become more focused and absorbed into this experience, and in some way you could allow yourself while reading the words on this page to become even more focused and absorbed into your experience of this finger...in a way that's comfortable for you........and it might be enjoyable to notice what it is about this finger that stands out in your awareness., whether there is warmth, or a coolness, or whether the sensation feels pickly or smooth........and you can just notice whatever it is that your noticing...and as you do this you might become aware of how little attetion you've payed to your foot................. or the top of your head, and that in many ways you could notice how you have been entirely unconscious of these other possible aspects of your experience........

Now as limited and simplistic as this example is, it demostrates a particular point well, That as humans we have the capacity to pay attention to a limited range of data from within an almost limitless range of possibilities in our experience. This is a function of the structure of the human organism, yet within this 'limitation' lies the magic of attention both to provide freedom from, and also some would say the creation of; many of our psychological, emotional and relational difficulties, it is like many things, a two edge sword, as the function that can enslave us is the same function that when used wisley and consciously can liberate us.

So launching off from this premise we can elucidate the idea that the problems people experience in their self consciousness can be understood to begin as habits of attention. These habits of attention might be triggered by traumatic experiences, a desire for a sense of control, or many other possibilities. Yet regardless of the cause it is the habit itself that often becomes problematic. To give a more specific example the experience of 'anxiety' could be understood as a person skilled in negative prediction and visualisation of futures that they would like to avoid, their attention is then as a result focused on images that create particular physiological responses interpreted as feelings which are described as anxiety and connected to particular patterns of behaviour. Additionally a person perceiving through this habitual lens will also commonly experience a negative bias in their perception which will look for evidence in the world that will reinforce their existing state and delete information to the contrary. These types of patterns can then be compounded when an individual begins to identify the 'self' and the ground of awareness with thiis habit, or pattern of perception.

Narrative therapists have written widley on this idea that over time we can begin to internalise problem saturated identities, simply this means that we begin to identify as, for example an 'anxious person' and again begin to selectivly search for information in our experience that supports this story about ourselves and ignore information that is to the contrary and, once we hold these beliefs about ourselves, we begin to behave in ways that support it. An unfortunate loop you might say.......

Traditional appraoches to thereputic change have consistantly, yet unitentionally, supported these pathological self descriptions, primarily through labelling, and internalising discources which see people as problems and understand a focus on the problem as fundamental to providing resolution and healing. Now these ideas have been useful for many, yet they risk in some ways perpetuating the diffiuclties they are trying to solve. More recent developments in therapy commonly known as third wave appraoches however have provided some different ideas to the facilitation of change, and recognise that where an individual focuses their attention can influence not only on how they experience the world, but what they believe about themeslves and with this, the resolution of related problematic experiences and behaviours.

Fundametal to this approach is a deep respect, acknowledgement and belief in people and their inate capacity and existing resources. From this perspective we would encourage a client firstly to develop a clear picture of the changes that they are wanting to make in their life and to begin to 'dream into this' to visualise and create a detailed projection of this future, rich with experiential detail, This often will engender hope, possibility and expectacy, three ingredients that are foundational in theraputic change. It is this hope and possibility that can act as 'future pull' and can in and of itself facilitate change and lifts us from the bind of problem solving approaches into the world of problem dissolution... wasn't it albert einstein who said:

'we can't solve problems by using the same type of thinking that created them'

The second and primary aspect of this approaach is to notice what is working, when is this solution already present, just a little bit. This is what could be known as a 'solution formula', a repeatable structure of experience and behaviour that can be replicated or learnt and repeated. This is how we can move logical levels and escape the pathology focused world of deficit thinking and problem solving and move into a way of thinking that sees change as inevitable and always present, it is 'just' a matter of turning our attention to it...Finishing with a quote by Jugian Robert Johnson:

"It's not too difficult to get the skeletons out of the closet with people, but to get the gold out is a different matter. That is therapy. Psychology is the Art of finding the gold of the spirit."