Turning

Turning

• Turning is the great metaphor – the great & universal analogy for humans across the all of time – there is no idea, image or analogy more compelling than the idea of turning. 
• The word turn ranks (behind run, put and set) between fourth and seventh in words in the English language for the number of meanings in current usage (NYT; OED). 
• The sun rises in the morning, the seasons turn from one  into the other, the moon is overhead at night and not in the morning, water falls over a cliff face, an old man falls over his feet, life turns from birth into death into birth, night turns into day turns into night, sleep awakens is followed by sleep and so on and so forth. 
• The idea and the experience and the analogy of turning is integral to who we are as humans – everything we do, every action we take, every sound we make, every thought we think is integral to the idea of turning – turning is implicit in all things – we turn to each other in times of trouble, we turn away when we dislike someone, we turn on with desire and we turn off with indifference and so on and so forth. 

• Turning is central to the therapeutic process and the therapeutic endeavour – that is what therapy is all about – it is about getting the process of turning and the image, analogue, metaphor, analogy of turning – moving again. 
• A human problem suggests that turning may be compromised and the presence of a chronic problem strongly suggests that turning has become fatally compromised – our central therapeutic task is to get the natural and normal and spontaneous  process of turning going again. 
• Turning is temporal – turning invents the temporal and the temporal is implicit in our neuro-biological function and all socio-relational interactions, exchanges and events. 
• When turning is compromised the temporal is compromised producing pathology, symptoms and enduring problems. 
• The therapist must always understand that their primary task over and above all else is to apprehend the analogy of turning in it’s full temporal and analogic sense and metaphorically kickstart this analogy back into the future 

•  The therapist must not only have a full command of the nature of analogy but must have a full command of the most central and sacred analogue of all –  turning 

Turning Points

This refers to the turning points or punctuations, events that change the composition, direction and shape of the life of an individual or group. 

Just because an event appears significant that does not means that that it is. For it to be a turning point, the composition of the ‘system’ or ‘village’ must change and/or that the pattern of interaction between the people in the ‘system’ or ‘village’ must change.  

A ‘turning point’ is not just a trauma event such as an accident, death, injury, separation or divorce; a ‘turning point’ can be a positive event such as a marriage, birth, reunion, or a new job; or a ‘turning point’ may be an ambiguous event such as migration.  

In working with clients, it is useful to set out the ‘turning points’ in the life of the person/people in the case in terms of: 

• The event 
• Is it a trauma, positive or ambiguous event? 
• Identify any particular ‘turning points’ in which the composition of the ‘system’ or ‘village’ has fundamentally changed. 
• Identify any particular ‘turning points’ at which the pattern of interaction between the people has fundamentally changed. 
• Connect these turning points to the problem and the request. 

• Connect these turning points to the history of the problem. 
• Connect these turning points to the changing ‘social and relational field’ around the client and the problem. 
• Connect these turning points to the ‘pattern of interaction’ around the problem and request. 
• Connect these turning points to the biology and ‘socio-economic justice’ of the problem. 
• Connect these turning points to the history of attempts to deal with the problem. 

• Do these turning points offer anything positive (strengths, hope) in dealing with this request, client and problem? 

These can be formally represented on a time-line with events experienced as positive written in green above the line and those that are negative in red, below. This allows for visual information and in particular ‘clustering’ of both red and green experiences which can be understood in relation to the presenting problem.