INJUNCTIONS rule. They are insidious and often unconscious.

They are an inner command, a strong DON’T.

Understanding the influence of injunctions can help us support our clients in learning to recognize them and dismantle from them.

I learned about injunctions while studying Transactional Analysis (TA) and Redecision Therapy. In TA, there are twelve. They are essentially prohibitions and run like silent rivers in our consciousness influencing the way we move through life

1. Don’t be. Don’t exist.
2. Don’t be who you are.
3. Don’t be a child.
4. Don’t grow up.
5. Don’t think.
6. Don’t feel.
7. Don’t do anything.
8. Don’t be well or sane.
9. Don’t be important.
10. Don’t make it in your life.
11. Don’t be close.
12. Don’t belong.

From an AAIT standpoint, there is ample room for integration and freedom here. Of course you would want to be assured that there is NO suicidal ideation as part of the mix before working to dismantle injunctions around existing.

Nonetheless, consider the injunctions that may be tangling up you or your clients. Following the phases of AAIT, consider the presenting problem from the perspective of injunctions. DISCOVER the injunction that may be in play. Beyond the twelve held by TA, is there another phrasing that brings the injunction more alive?

COLLABORATE with your client determining the problem and session goal. Discuss the approach you will use to dismantle the polarized tension.

INTEGRATE the polarized tension of the injunction. If you just learned Ivana End of Words, play with that. There are lots of ways to approach this, Pair a Day is an excellent method, I’ll be teaching this in the upcoming AAIT Essentials Training.

DIRECT AWARENESS to the neutralized or pleroma state of integration to help stabilize that state.

Give your client EMBODIMENT suggestions for their home practice. This could include using Basic PEAT to cultivate more ease of being throughout the week or IEW to address any self limiting cognitive activity identified in the session.

Walk yourself through the same process or grab a friend and practice. Let us know how it goes.

P.S. Email me to learn more and reserve your spot at the upcoming training. It’s quite something to be able to help a client dismantle an injunction within one or two sessions.