Conflict Resolution

CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Robert Frost

Indications for when to use this technique:
1) Use this technique when the body language reveals hypertone muscles on only one side of the body.The same muscles may test weak on the other side of the body. This treatment can be especially useful when this one-sided hypertonic condition returns despite quality structural and chemical corrections.
2) This technique may also be applied when the personal history, as gathered in the anamnese or in further conversation with the patient, reveals a conflict in the psychological state and/or behavior of the patient.

Method:
Gathering information
Beginning Point 1: One-sided Hypertonicity
1. If a hypertonic muscle exists on only one side of the body, test it and then press into it to locate the area of greatest pain. Ask the patient what he experiences, feels, thinks of while you press upon and around the spot of greatest tension and pain. Then say, “We will now test the emotion related to this area. The group or words containing the relevant emotion, and the specific emotion itself will weaken the indicator muscle.”
2. Test the emotion related to the hypertonic muscle (with the Five-Element Emotions Chart).
3. If the same muscle is found to test weak on the other side of the body, test the emotion related to it as well.
4. The hypertonic muscle and related emotion reveals where the patient holds too tightly, is not open to change, is fixed, dogmatic, closed, critical, resisting, defending etc. Consider the function of the muscle itself. Is it involved with “pushing away” or ”pulling toward”? Discuss the muscle’s function in light of the tested emotion.
5. If the same muscle on the other side of the body tests weak, this muscle and the related emotion may reveal in which area the patient is too open, too available, too accepting, undiscriminating, overwhelmed, and incapable of decisive action.
6. Talk to the patient about these issues and ask him to describe how they relate to his life. Allow him to fill in the details and confirm or reject any interpretations you may suggest. Information gathered through muscle testing may be used to help the patient to become aware of the nature of his conflict. But any so gathered information should be in harmony with his experience. He should feel that it relates to his situation or it may not be relevant.

Beginning Point 2: The existence of an obvious conflict in awareness and behavior.
1. Ask the patient to describe the nature of his problem. Ask questions such as: “What do you have difficulty doing? In which situations do you have these problems? What provokes your problematic behavior? In such situations, what do you want to do? What do you think you should do?”
2. Observe the body language as the patient reveals his story. Does he use his left hand, lean to the left, raise his left eyebrow etc. to describe one side of his conflict?

Intervention
1. Determine which side of the body relates to which side of the conflict. In the case of one-sided hypertonic muscles, this is obvious. Otherwise, use the results of your observation of body language or allow him to choose which side of his body will represent which side of the conflict.
2. Have the patient hold out one hand and imagine a representation of one side of his conflict upon his hand. Have him describe the figure in detail.
3. Then have him, in his imagination, become the figure in his hand and, as the figure, introduce and describe himself. He should tell what he can do very well and also what he has problems with.
4. Have him return to his own body and describe his impressions of and feelings about that figure.
5. Next, he visualizes the other side of the conflict as a figure upon his other outstretched hand and describes it in detail.
6. He becomes this other figure and, as it, describes himself; what he can do well and what he can’t do well.
7. He returns to being in his body and describes how he perceives and feels about this other figure.
8. Take copious notes during this process. At this point, use your notes to summerize each side of his conflict as revealed in his descriptions. Then, from each point of view, comment upon the qualities which one side has and which the other side lacks and needs. Make it evident that each is and has what the other needs in order to become whole.
9. Have the patient be the figure on one side and introduce himself to the figure on the other side. He should say who he is, what he can do, and describe how the other side appears to him.
10. Then he reverses the roles and plays the other side introducing itself and describing how it finds the first side to be.
11. Now he should come back to being himself in his own body and observe both sides simultaneously. Describe to him how each side needs the other; how with the qualities of the other, each side would be much more functional and complete.
12. Then say, “I want you to slowly bring your hands together. Do this only as fast as you can integrate these two figures on both conscious and subconscious levels. As they come together, a new figure will appear. I want you to observe this and describe the new figure to me. Take all the time you need for this integration.” Then wait until the hands are brought together.
13. Have the patient describe the new figure representing the integration of the two conflicting sides.
14. Have him describe how such a figure would deal with the situations that were problematic for each prior side.
15. Ask him how he feels about this new figure and if he wishes to be like this.
16. If he has any objections, have him alter his visualization until it is exactly the way he wishes to be.
17. When he fully accepts that the new figure is exactly how his wishes to be, ask him to bring his hands up to his chest and allow the figure to enter and merge with him.
18. Have him visualizing being the new figure acting in that way. This will help prepare him to do so in his life. Specifically, ask him imagine future situations of the sort that previously evoked his conflict. He should imagine acting in an integrated manner and solving the problems elegantely.

Confirmation:
1. If there were muscular imbalances related to the conflict, retest them now. The related prior imbalances should be gone.
2. If there was observed conflict in the psychological state or behavior, attempt to provoke it to see if the patient reacts in a new more integrated manner. If the first attempt fails, have the patient again visualize being the integrated figure. Then again attempt to provoke his prior type of reactions. Repeat this process until he is solidly in the new state.
3. Ask the patient to observe with curiosity how his reactions to previously problematic situations change after this session.