Three Powerful Questions I Always Ask in Therapy

Before any parts-based processing session, I typically begin with several orienting questions. These are not formalities. They play an important role in shaping the session and supporting the Adaptive Information Processing model.

I ask:

-What are you willing to change today?

-How do you want to act?

-How do you want to feel?

These questions are usually in response to what a client is bringing into the session, like a painful or overwhelming situation they recently experienced. They may also be associated with the recall of painful memories from the past.

These questions help me to:

Guide session aims: Understanding what has been arising for the client allows us to target the core of what needs shifting.

Centre the client’s goals: The client’s desired change takes priority over the therapist’s assumptions.

Develop a map for processing: Clear goals support the AIP model by identifying what the brain needs to resolve.

Strengthen adaptive information: Naming values, hopes, and intentions activates more functional neural networks.

Create a template of future responses: Strengthen the way the client will prefer to show up in future, similar situations- or when recalling past pain or hurt

Evaluate progress: We can revisit the goal at the end of the session to measure shifts in emotion, belief, and somatic experience.

This structure supports both safety and clarity, allowing the client to move through processing with a sense of orientation.

As a therapist, would you try these three simple questions?

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Claudia Wolf | AMHSW | Accredited EMDR | Advanced Clinical Resource Therapist & Trainer

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This blog is not a replacement for therapy or therapy training, and is for entertainment and educational purposes only. If these themes bring up any distress for you, please seek formal support.