The Role of Insight In Transformation
Insight plays an important role in most psychotherapy. I am pretty solid in my belief that the most useful #Insights are the ones that arise following integration.
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Insight does not produce change. Insight follows the neutralization of charged energy. The imposition of insight when there is still charge does little except produce more charge, generally in the form of shame or guilt when there is no change following the insight.
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A young woman told me recently, “I‘m so sick of being told after a therapy session, just keep journaling and thinking about how you now understand this issue.” She just wants to feel better. Insight without change is fairly useless.
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With AAIT, insight naturally arises of its own accord following the release and integration of charged energy. Almost every session, clients hear some version of the question, “What do you know now that you didn’t before, if anything new? Or, what are you taking away from this conversation?”
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These questions focus the learning and transformation. Some consider them bold. However, these are questions worth asking. It’s a question that elicits tremendous wisdom and insight.
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For instance, after some shared integration practice in one of my AAIT groups, I considered some of the insights that arose after the practice. We were engaging in integration related to the personal reactions to being in this time of chaos and upheaval.
• I realized how contraction has been my reaction, limiting my perspective and energy. Now I feel centered and back in ONENESS.
• Now I can just allow the chaos and upheaval to be. I don’t have to try to control it. I can just watch it.
• I don’t have to be in resistance to chaos and upheaval.
• I can regain my equilibrium.
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These insights are grounded in their own personal experience following the acceptance and integration of the charged energy associated with the chaos and upheaval of these times.
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What do you know now that you didn’t before after reading this?
