Processing and Integration
There’s not really any way to know how long a process will take to run its course, where will it lead, or when it will be finished. Usually, it’s not until a while later when time has passed and created some distance and perspective, that we can look back and realise a given process has ended, what we learned, and how it changed us. In real-time, our attention is usually focused on completing the task at hand rather than on reflection, because we have so much to do: managing the situation as best we can, solving problems, finding solutions, surviving, and hopefully also thriving.
Maybe integration is one of those things that happens when we’re not looking; an aim that cannot be reached for as long as we actively try to get there, but is only accessible indirectly, and belatedly. Nevertheless, it’s happening, even now at this very moment. Life is continuously changing and pressing on us whether we like it or not, and that activates this dynamic flow of processing on the inside. Integration comes in as a way to balance the meeting between the external impressions and our internal reactions to them. We constantly absorb information and process it by discerning which to discard and which to keep. What we are left with then gets integrated with the whole set of beliefs, values and world-views we already have, which form the core of our personal identity.
Of course, some things are easier to process and integrate than others. Certain experiences, for example, those that were too difficult to deal with at the time and/or were overwhelming can take a long time to process, sometimes months or even years. When I see that with a client, it’s good to remember then even an initial and partial integration of some of those past impressions will be a sign of great progress. No matter how small the shift is, it can still indicate that the person has got their process going and the system is moving in the right direction. Balance is connected with movement and flow and when it cannot be found it might mean that the system is stuck, is static or is in a state of standing still (frozen).
Knowing that integration is an organic process there’s no point pushing too hard or too fast to get there, and can have a damaging impact on the therapeutic relationship, and on the person and their process. We (both me and the client) have to accept that it’ll take as long as it takes.
Even so, it’s possible to encourage integration, or at the very least, to work towards it intentionally. The way to reach it requires the processing of past and present experiences and meaningful impressions – while simultaneously giving it time and space to unfold. This can be hard work and I find it really challenging for myself in my own process at times, and often witness the struggle of doing so in my clients.
The two factors worth remembering are 1. Touching upon the difficult stuff is the only way to overcome obstacles and change patterns that people have carried in their bodies, sometimes for many, many years, and 2. The time for processing them has to be right.
When I work with my clients the key is having a more or less clear aim of where they want to go, some kind of a vision of the life they want to have and the person they want to be. We use these ideas to guide us through the processing of experiences and impressions from the past or present and find the way forward into the future with more self-awareness and confidence in who they are and what they can achieve. My job, among other things, is to remind them that there’s always the possibility of healing and growth, however long it might take and effort to achieve, and that above all, we are all work in progress and never a final product.
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