This recording is different from most other recordings in this podcast series. Instead of a conversation, it features Serge Prengel in a short talk.

Transcript:
The giant "pause" that we are going through is an opportunity to reflect on what our basic assumptions are as to what we do and why we do it. I am sharing my thoughts with you in the hope that they will stimulate you to formulate your own.
What is it that we aim to achieve in therapy? I am starting with the assumption that, in many if not most cases, the desired outcome is lasting, sustainable change.
How do we accomplish that? I see therapy as a transformative experience, which leads the client to learn new patterns of responding to life’s interactions.
We can conceptualize this as a rewiring of neural circuits. If we were able to see the wiring, we would presumably notice the change. In any case, the transformation is not an abstraction. We can very much see it in the way it manifests. Essentially, the client is now reliably able to be responsive, rather than reactive, in situations that were triggering them.
The change in behavior is concomitant with a change in which circuit of the autonomic nervous system is involved. Reactivity occurs in sympathetic or dorsal vagal modes. Responsiveness, in social engagement mode. These are not abstractions, but very observable phenomena: in the course of therapy, we can track the client’s somatic experience to monitor where they are on this roadmap. We can also coach the client to improve their somatic awareness.
I do not see the notion of “meaning“ as a philosophical concept, but an experience that is colored by the circuits in the autonomic nervous system. That is, in dorsal vagal mode, the experience is that of an overwhelming threat. In sympathetic mode, it is that of fighting or fleeing threat. In social engagement mode, we have access to many more nuances of meaning.
Looking at change within the context of the autonomic nervous system reminds us that what we are dealing with is the human ability to manage interaction. This is a relational perspective, as opposed to a "one-person psychology". Hence the following implications:
– The therapeutic interaction requires fostering the safety and relationality that facilitate the social engagement mode, where experience can be assimilated.
– The changes will only be lasting to the extent that external factors, such as family pressures, or social pressure, are addressed.

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Serge Prengel
Published May 2020.