Intervention 15 The art of reframing Purpose The way in which we look at our situations in life affects how we feel. This is very apt when we are working with people to help them better manage the different kinds of stress they may be experiencing. Reframing involves helping people to perceive their difficulties, and the context in which they take place, in a different way. A useful way of understanding this is to imagine that you have no knowledge of art or painting and to see the same picture literally in different frames. A Van Gogh, such as Pavement Cafe at Night, might look like a mess of blues and greens and oranges if viewed surrounded by a cheap white plastic frame. Putting the same painting in a polished mature redwood frame with gold edgings and gold-plated titling instantly makes the painting look more valuable simply by changing the frame it sits in. There are many ways to use reframing with people. Use your imagination with individuals and groups and experiment with different kinds of reframing to help them manage their stress in more effective ways. —
Materials • Sufficient copies of Handout 15.1, ‘Examples of reframing’. • Sufficient copies of Handout 15.2, ‘Reframing schedule’. • Paper and pens.
Technique 1. Explain to the individual or group that we view the problems and concerns in our lives through a particular frame of reference for each event. How we see, or frame, these events affects how we feel and whether or not we find the event stressful. 2. Make sure that they have understood what you mean by framing and link this to the analogy of how different picture frames influence how we see paintings, as well as how we think about them and the value we may put upon them. Tell the individual or group that, when we do this, we are reframing our experience. 3. Give one or two examples of reframing and invite the individual or group to do the same in order to check their understanding. You can use Handout 15.1, ‘Examples of reframing’, to cue into the individual or group how they can use reframing to better manage their stress.
Adapted from The Gower Stress Management Toolkit, Roy Bailey, Gower, Aldershot, 2001