2.4.1. Exercise: Experiencing Domains
Directions. Make
yourself comfortable. Get into a
comfortable position; take a few deep breaths. When you’re ready, slowly direct your attention to each of
the following by asking the appropriate question. Pay attention to the different qualities of each type of
experiencing. Afterwards write a
page or two about what it was like to do this exercise.
Type of Experiencing |
Question |
|
[Sensation/Perception] |
|
|
•Outer
sensation |
What are you aware of around you? (with your eyes, ears, nose
and skin) |
|
•Inner
sensation |
What are you aware of inside your body? (stomach, chest, head,
feet, back etc.) |
|
[Discrete feelings] |
|
|
•In
your gut |
What do you feel emotionally that seems located in your stomach
or chest? |
|
•In
your face |
Be aware of your face.
What emotion is carried in your face? |
|
[Action-oriented experience] |
|
|
•Want/need/goal |
What you want or need right now? (from other people, for
yourself) |
|
•Action
tendency |
What do your arms, legs etc. want to do right now? (if you were to move them, what would
they do?) |
|
[Reflective Meaning] |
|
|
•Unclear
felt sense |
What unclear or unformed feelings do you have? (any sense you have about something
that isn’t yet clear, because it is general, complex, puzzling or hasn’t come
into focus yet) |
|
•Thoughts/ attributions |
Think about this excercise (evaluations and explanations). What did you like or dislike
doing? How did the exercise
affect you? Why? |
Materials designed to
accompany the book Learning Emotion-Focused Therapy: The
Process-Experiential Approach to Change from APA Books.
©2003 Robert Elliott, Jeanne Watson, Rhonda Goldman, and Leslie Greenberg
http://www.process-experiential.org/learning