Re:choosing cognitions

Indeed - this makes sense!

Without commenting anything about you and your personal introject(s)....let me make a few general comments.

Introjects are often worried about 1) being done away with, or 2) losing their power. I always tell them that a) I am not in the business of getting rid of important parts of self, b) I couldn't if I wanted to and c) they can become internal heroes, eventually, once others understand how important their jobs were for survival.

Perp introjects assumed their role, at an early age, for several reasons. 1) having the perp inside served to prevent some harm from happening--- like having a warden inside. 2) it was a better feeling to identify with the powerful perp than with the victim, so the self did get to have the pleasure of a feeling of power, though at the cost of feeling as malignant as the perp, 3) blaming the child for the trauma serves to maintain the attachment to the perp, and remember a child will do ANYTHING for love, and 4) I always forget one.....oh yes, keeping the child silent may have kept the child alive.

Introjects need to be appreciated for the difficult job they did, and how misunderstood they are by other parts of the self. They need to be reminded, with mirrors and a current newspaper, of their person, place and date (oriented x 3) because they can be WAY WAY off. They need to be reminded that they are not the external perp, so they are off the hook for the perps crimes. At that point, they often get very tired, and I take their hand, and I may add some bilateral stimulation right here - limited.

At that point they often take off their perp introject costume, and are revealed (in the client's minds eye, as well as mine) as the young child part of self they were before they donned the robes. Exhausted, they'll curl up and sleep a healing sleep, and I tuck them in in their minds eye with a blankie and a bear, and a bowl of applesauce, or whatever they need.

And the therapy proceeds without as much interference going forward.

Replies:

ego state work, by wondering, 08/08/03 Re:ego state work, by Opinionated, 08/08/03 Re:ego state work, by wondering, 08/09/03 Re:ego state work, by Sandra Paulsen Inobe PhD, 08/10/03 termination, by wondering, 08/10/03 afterthought, by wondering, 08/10/03 Re:afterthought, by Sandra Paulsen Inobe PhD, 08/11/03 Re:afterthought, by wondering, 08/11/03

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