Traumatic Incident Reduction Association

TIRA eNotes – Feb. 2018 (No. 14)

The Value of Unlayering Techniques

Developing and honing new skills takes considerable practice over time.  If one wants to be an able and proficient athlete, would one expect that doing a workout of one push up, one sit-up and one big stretch get the job done?  Of course not.  An accomplished piano player practices basic skills, such as scales, to achieve and maintain proficiency.

We want to make these skills so much a part of our experience that they are second nature to us.  If we want to become a pilot, a firefighter, a paramedic, or a bareback rider we expect to work hard to gain the necessary knowledge and skills.  Training and discipline can lead to professional excellence.  Short cuts will not do the job.

All right, so if we understand the need for repeated practice to gain something of value in terms of our abilities, how might we apply the same principle in aid of un-doing something, getting rid of something?

“Unlayering” is a term in the subject of Applied Metapsychology that refers to doing just that: making use of a repeated activity to accomplish something of value to us.   Repeating the activity allows us to “unstick” something that is fixated in our minds and/or emotions.  In the process we gain new clarity and insights.

TIR, Traumatic Incident Reduction  is the cornerstone of the subject of Applied Metapsychology**, because effectively addressing past traumas is crucial to improving the human condition.  TIR is a checklist type of technique, where we complete a series of tasks in a specific order to achieve our goal – resolving that traumatic experience we are addressing.

Unlayering is a different sort of technique, a deceptively simple one.  Though they can be as simple as a single question, unlayering techniques are usually sets of two or more questions.  Within the safe space of an Applied Metapsychology session, with the practitioner’s complete attention and lack of judgment, each question is asked, giving you a chance to take a look and see what you see.  When you have finished answering the question to your satisfaction, the practitioner acknowledges having received your answer, then asks the next question and so on.

Even though each question may be asked a large number of times, each time it is asked freshly and with undiminished interest on the part of the practitioner.  By having the opportunity to look newly each time and see what comes up, you achieve a new depth of understanding.  We often find that we have conflicting ideas on the same subject.  Viewing them all in this safe environment, having each of our answers acknowledged as we go, allows us to go much deeper into a subject.  In the process we relieve emotional charge and gain insights.  That which was stuck becomes “unstuck” and we experience a new freedom on the subject being addressed as we reach our end point for that technique.

To find further information, see TIRA home page and Life Stress Reduction info page