UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DE NICARAGUA (UCN) CLINICAL EXPERIMENTS What cognitive psychotherapies like CBT, NLP and Ericksonian hypnotherapy reveal about the workings of the mind. – – A theoretical analysis over 35 years of clinical experimentation. Doctor of Philosohpy in Psychology With a focus in Neurolinguistic Psychology (NLPsy) Dr. Lucas Derks 2016 What Cognitive Psychotherapies Reveal About the Workings of the Mind. Clinical Experiments in Mental Space Lucas Derks II UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DE NICARAGUA (UCN) CLINICAL EXPERIMENTS What cognitive psychotherapies like CBT, NLP and Ericksonian hypnotherapy reveal about the workings of the mind. – – A theoretical analysis of 35 years of clinical experimentation. DISSERTATION Submitted from: Lucas Derks Born: 19.11.1950, Renkum in Netherlands Student Number: P31P3E66 Submitted at: Universidad Central de Nicaragua (UCN) MANAGUA, REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA, CENTRAL AMERICA International School of Psychology Prof. Dr. Karl Nielsen UCN Represenative Office Berlin, Germany Submitted on: October 2016 Evaluators: Prof. Dr. Nandana Nielsen, International School of Psychology, UCN Prof. Dr. Iolanda Mitrofan, Faculty of Psychology, University of Bucharest III Assurance Statement I hereby declare on oath that I have written the submitted Ph.D. Final: Experiments. What Cognitive Psychotherapies like CBT, NLP and Ericksonian Hypnotherapy Reveal about Clinical the Workings of the Mind. A Theoretical Analysis of 35 Years of Clinical – – independently and without unauthorized assistance. I have not used other than the named tools Experimentation, and scripts. All used parts of other authors either literally or correspondingly are cited. Lucas Derks Lucas Albert Charles Derks Prinses Margrietschool Utrecht 1962 Koningin Julianaschool Utrecht 1964 School voor de Grafische Vakken Utrecht 1968 Akademie Artibus Utrecht: Publiciteit Einddiploma 1972 Creatief Didaktische Bijscholing Arnhem 1973 Rijks Universiteit Utrecht: Sociale Psychologie Doctoraal 1982 IV Abstract Background Some psychotherapeutic schools discribe their techniques in precise step-by-step formats. By using these methods for decades the practitioner recognizes patterns in psychological phenom- ena that are hard to see in controlled laboratory settings. What does the regarding of such highly structured therapeutic techniques as field experiements reveal about the workings of the mind? In this project the focus is on insights about the role of space in cognition, the mechanisms that make it hard for people to change their beliefs, and the neuro-cognitive mechanisms behind emotional problem solving. Aims This research aims at disclosing an area that normally has the status of gray applied knowledge. By linking these notions to research and formulating them in an all emcompassing theoretical framework, a bridge between therapeutic practice and academic psychology is build. This can be profitable in both directions: it may improve clinical work and open new areas for academic psy- chological research. Method A selection of twentyfour therapeutic methods is regarded as experiements. All these methods have been applied for five years up to four decades by a great number of practitioners. This enabled the researchers to make series of observations based on the application of these methods in private practices and trainings. The great number of cases observed create a stable image. Due to the fact that this all happened in an uncontrolled naturalistic setting with real cli- ents and students, nothing was recorded with standardized measuring tools. This means that this research has to be regarded as qualitative. However all of the methods presented here are open for quantitative effect evaluation and experimental testing. After looking at the history of development of a certain therapeutic tool it is presented in an al- gorithm that aims at easy replication. The therapeutic procedure is then regarded as a field ex- periment. The therapeutic effect is only looked at on face value. However the mental processes that the technique brings about are analysed in detail and result in theoretical conclusions. V Results The nineteen experimental procedures in part one show how space must be seen as the primary organizing principle in the mind. They also reveal much about the general laws by which people organize their mental space and the behavioural consequenses thereoff. The three tools for changing beliefs that are central in part two give away how conservatism is a logical product of the spatial and neurological build-up of the mind. It is shown how changing mind is limited because the locations in mental space where the changes must be made stayones often out of reach for the attention. And also because of chains of associations are consolidated in a way that makespersons them hard to change in the here and now. The experiment with problem solving in part three shows how concepts become automatically connected in a way that helps to create a usefull model of the environment. When connections fail to come about however, this may turn into an emotional crisis. How such blokkades are solved is shown in psychotherapeutic thechniques that make use of the latent potential: resources. clients The experiment in part four verifies the basic assumption of the so called social panorama model that, social emotional relationships are created by putting the images of people on steady loca- tions in mental space. Changing these locations alters the socio-emotional meaning of the rela- tionships. Conclusions Although regarding systematic therapeutic interventions as field experiments does not fullfill the methodological criteria that psychology has set for itself, it can still be a way to explore yet uncharted territory. The price payed for gaining these often exciting insights, that may leave their fruits in the area of cognitive science and psychotherapy alike, is research without the high status that its content would deserve. When the findings of this study are fed back into the clinical field, therapy changes from a into a And also the trend in cognitive therapies to pay less time and atten-word gametion to exploringspace thegame. misery and to focuss more on how to create a more fruitfull mind- set will only become clientsstronger with the help of these studies. VI Acknowledgements For their contributions in support and feedback I like to thank: Prof. Dr. W. O. Ötsch, Institute of Economics, Cusanus-Hochschule. Prof. Dr. B. Tversky, Teachers College, Columbia University. Prof. Dr. H. Znoj, Faculty of Psychology, University Bern. Prof. Dr. M. Varga von Kibéd, Institut for Systemic Education and Research. M.Sc. Psychology, W. Walker, NLP-Berlin-Brandenburg. Dr. O. Cucu-Oancea, Institute for Sociology, University of Bucharest. Dr. R. Gray, Research and Recognition Project Inc. Dr. S. D. Dumitrache, Faculty of Sociology, University of Bucharest. Dr. W. Glaudemans, Talentenspel, Houten. Dr. G. Dawes, Psychologist. Dr. R. Bolstad, Transformations International Consulting & Training Ltd. I should like to thank the following people for various reasons: Willem de Haan, Angelika Haas, Valentijn Haas, Philip Boer, René Koppelaar, Bruce Grimley, Robert Heemelaar, Gert Arts, Michiel Brandt, Christine Beenhakker and Nigel Jack. VII Table of Contents Assurance Statement IV Abstract V Acknowledgements VII Table of contents VIII List of Clinical Experiments XII List of tables XIII List of photos and figures X IV List of used abbreviations XVI Summaries of the 4 parts 1 Preface 3 General Introduction 6 Part 1 Clinical Experiments in Mental Space 9 1.1 Introduction 10 1.2 Brain Space 22 1.3 Central Nervoussystem Space 34 1.4 Body Space 40 1.5 Awareness Space 46 1.6 Navigation and orientation 73 1.7 Time Space 80 1.8 The Self-Space 86 1.9 Social Space 99 1.10 Linguistic Space 108 1.11 Spatial Metaphors 116 1.12 General conclusions about CE in mental space 123 Part 2 Clinical Experiments with Convictions 125 2.0 Belief change technology 126 2.1 A brief history of belief change in psychotherapy 127 2.1.1 Cognitive therapies work with beliefs 127 VIII 2.1.2 Rational Emotive Therapy: RET 127 2.1.3 Beliefs in NLP 128 2.1.4 Byron Katie 132 2.2 Observations on RET, reframing and The Work 133 2.3 Exploring the origins of beliefs in re-imprinting 135 2.4 Observations from re-imprinting 137 2.5 Conclusions from re-imprinting 141 2.5.1 The representation of time and space 141 2.5.2 The origin of a spatial past 142 2.5.3 Searching for bad memories 143 2.5.4 Temporal distance and emotional distance 144 2.5.5 Intentional emotional distance 144 2.5.6 Distance and creativity 145 2.6 Reconsidering beliefs 147 2.7 Conclusions on Re-imprinting and Wholeness process 149 2.7.1 Before the first time: how conservatism is overcome 153 2.7.2 Prograde and retrograde links between memories 156 2.7.3 Prograde connections between positions 157 2.7.4 Concluding remarks about re-imprinting) 160 2.8 Is a change in memories good or bad? Moral questions 160 2.8.1 Improved social imagery 162 2.9 Redesigning Re-imprinting 162 2.9.1 The Prologue 163 2.9.2 The quality of the alternative beliefs 163 2.10 Observations from convincing your younger self. 164 2.11 Conclusions from convincing your younger self 166 2.12 Observations from Preconception 168 2.13 Conclusions from all belief change technologies 169 Part 3 Clinical Experiments in Problem Solving 172 3.0 ideas out! 173 3.1 Man…theseResources, solvedare…far and unsolved problems 174 3.2 Clinical experimentation 175 IX 3.3 Examples 176 3.4 Conclusions from clinical