this is a new swim lesson, and I already like swimming.TINA:Exactly. Because how do you feel about swimming in
general?SON: Great.TINA:
Great. And now let’s do one more thing. What’s something
you could do or say to your brain if you start feeling
nervous again when we first get to swimming lessons? Like
a code to help remind yourself that these feelings are from
the past?SON: I don’t know. Kill the butterflies?TINA:
Because the butterflies are from a long time ago and you
don’t need them in your stomach anymore, right?SON: Right.TINA:
I love it. And I’m glad you’re laughing about it now. But
could we come up with a less violent code? How about
“Liberate the butterflies” or “Free the butterflies”?SON: I kind of like “kill.”TINA: OK. “Kill the butterflies” it is.Notice that the main thing Tina did here was to tell the story of
where her son’s fears came from. She used narrative to help his
implicit memories become explicit and full of meaning, so they
wouldn’t act on him with such hidden power. Once his implicit
memories about the unpleasant swimming lessons were brought