The therapeutic release of anger: Helen Watkins's silent abreaction and subsequent elaborations of the anger rock.

This paper summarizes Helen Watkins's (1980) silent abreaction technique for releasing anger and the subsequent elaborations it has inspired. Discussion of Watkins's seminal article incorporates her verbatim account of the technique, 2 clinical applications, and her encouragement of further adaptations. Other scholars' subsequent contributions include an adaptation for dissociative identity disorder, brief treatment of constant pain syndrome, and inpatient treatment of a suicidally depressed, dissociative survivor of sexual abuse. Commonalities and distinctions among Watkins's work and these modifications are discussed. New case material from the author's practice illustrate further elaborations, with emphasis on the role of releasing anger in the resolution of dissociative defenses and internal fragmentation in dissociative clients. To enhance the clinical utility of this paper, verbatim passages are included for all case illustrations in H. H. Watkins (1980), the 3 published elaborations, and the new case material.

The two-part film technique: empowering dissociative clients to alter cognitive distortions and maladaptive behaviors.

This paper describes and illustrates the two-part film (TPF) technique, an intervention characteristic of the Collective Heart model (Krakauer, 2001), a phase-oriented approach to treating dissociative disorders. Emphasis is on the technique's value in interdicting maladaptive interpersonal and intrapersonal patterns which perpetuate depression, anxiety, dissociation, and self-defeating behaviors. The approach is compared with similar internal screen techniques appearing in the hypnotic literature, and distinctive features of the TPF are noted. These include the minimally directive role of the therapist, reliance on the inner wisdom of the client, present and future orientation, and amplification of desired affective and somatic experiences. A verbatim clinical illustration is presented and discussed, with emphasis on the empowering impact of the TPF.