What the five sessions look like in a real programme

I begin with the boring part, because the boring part is protection. What we are doing, what we are not doing, what I keep in records, and when I refer somebody elsewhere.

If something in that conversation suggests medical or psychological care is needed, that becomes the plan instead. Otherwise, the client describes the problem in their own words and we agree a named pattern, a direction, and three markers we can count. Not calmer. How many times, how long, and what happened next.

Here we look at the structure of the pattern: the trigger, the sequence, and the function it once served. The exception, the time the usual thing did not happen, is often the most useful minute of the hour.

This is quiet, focused work. I check working distance, agree hand signals, and keep the client in charge of stopping at any moment, while they observe the response as it starts rather than being carried by it.

The new response is practised, not installed. We rehearse the specific moment, attach it to a cue the client will actually meet this week, and repeat it until the client has performed it themselves and it feels ordinary.

We finish with cues, one daily practice small enough to survive a bad week, and a date to re-count the markers. The aim is an independent client. Small and repeated beats ambitious and abandoned.

Sometimes a client becomes uncomfortable, or something appears that belongs with a healthcare professional. Then the sequence stops. I return to Assessment, we slow down, and I make the referral clearly rather than pushing through.

Knowing when to stop is not a failure of the method. It is the method working.