One of the reasons each Friday sees a guest post, here at Coaching Confidence, is to have a mix of different approaches, techniques and opinions shared.

This week, Lenny Deverill-West talks about context. We invite you to consider how you use, or could use, context in your work.

Let’s Talk About Context

by Lenny Deverill-West

“A problem well stated is a problem half solved”

(Charles Kettering)

I thought I’d talk about the importance of context when working with a client, which I have come to understand training as a Cognitive Hypnotherapist at The Quest Institute.  One the things I do when I first see a client is a history take.  I have noticed over time that often when client’s come back to see me after the history take, they have already begun to move forward with their issue, goal, problem etc.

I think the reason for this is clarity; once they understand specifically what the issue, goal or problem really is, their wisdom, mind or unconscious can set about solving it.

For me, a big part of getting clarity is in understanding the context surrounding what is stopping the client from having what they want.  (Along with Structure, Process and Consequence, which I’ll save for another day)

What is Context?

Context is about when the client has their problem and why, which is normally connected to what they have interpreted about a past event.

I have always been fascinated that a lot of the events that shape our beliefs in adult life happened when we are children.

This was also true of a former client who I will call Bob (not his real name), Bob was literally gripped with fear about the prospect of giving a best man’s speech to friends and family who only wished him the best.

The reason for this was that during school he had reading difficulties, and he had been made to read in front of the class whereby he was laughed at by all the other kids.

Clearly this event actually happened but what this event has come to mean was made up when he was a child.  I think it would be fair to say that getting laughed at by a bunch of kids would not have the same effect now as it did back then.

So when I’m finding out the context I’m not really interested the facts so to speak just what the event meant to the client.  And I’ll use a combination of the following questions to get to the “why now?” to establish a pattern between the past and the present.

Do you always have this problem?

Are there times when it’s better or worse?

What is different about those times?

Have you always had this problem?

What was different before you had it?

What was happening in your life when this problem started?

What is happening in your life when you have this problem that is similar to when the problem began?

*If you’re not keen on the word problem, you can use barrier, issue or whatever else you would prefer.

I know that exploring the ‘why’ is frowned upon in some coaching circles and with good reason. So the idea is not to dwell on why something happened, but just to discover the significant event connected to the client’s problem in order to reframe the meaning of it.

Context Mapping

Context Mapping is about finding the edge of the problem, at what point does it tip and what other contexts does it map across to.  Are there other situations that make them feel the same way?

So if we go back to Bob, Bob would only start to get nervous if he had to talk in front of four people or more.  At three people he was fine, but in front of four he would get a horrible feeling unless it was close friends and then he was ok again.

As hypnotherapist I was able to use key information to create a suggestion aimed at producing a type of trance phenomena known as negative hallucination, which is really just way of getting the client not to notice something.  In the case of Bob not to notice how many people are in the room, by drawing his attention to their ‘friendly faces’.

And as you begin talking, you might be surprised at how calm and relaxed you’ve started to feel as you’re only aware of the friendly faces looking back at you.

Exception Mapping

Bob actually came to see me for “no confidence” as he put it, now I don’t think I have ever met anyone who experiences their problem all of the time.

So Exception Mapping is about discovering the exceptions, when they don’t experience their problem.  This is useful because like Bob people will often gerneralise their problem.  E.G. I’m not confident is actually I’m not confident talk in front 4 or more people.

The exceptions to the rule let you know how big or small a problem is and understanding what is different about those times is another key piece of information that you can use.

Ok so next time you’re working with a client take some time to understand the context surrounding whatever you’re working on.  If context is a key driver for their issue, it would make sense to use context interventions.

The interventions you can use will depend upon your background, I have found that techniques that get people to see a situation differently work particularly well. If you are familiar with NLP/hypnosis terminology then Meta Mirror, Coaching, Reframing, Metaphor and Timeline Reframing are just a few but there are many others.

About the Author/Further Resources

Lenny Deverill-West is a Cognitive Hypnotherapist, NLP Practitioner, Coach and Corporate Trainer based in Southampton.

Lenny spends most his time seeing clients at his Southampton practice and is also developing trainings courses and Hypnotherapy products that are due out early next year. For more information about Lenny Deverill-West visit www.startlivingtoday.co.uk.