Paul giving a session

Psycho: Instructions

AUDIO: (No audio)

Response Options:

• Great! Let's do the full pre-session check to make sure I'm ready for the session.

• I'm familiar with what is needed and I am in shape physically for the session. I've set up the session environment. Let's go!

• Lemme outta here!

Notes

General PaulsRobot instructions

See these general session instructions if you are not already familiar with them.

Self-discipline needed

It is easier to benefit from a Psycho (or any PaulsRobot) session if you know what to expect and are prepared for it. It has been made as easy as possible for you, but you will have to use some degree of self-discipline in order to be successful. More so than with a human counsellor, because there is no-one in the room with you to keep you in the session doing what you should be doing.

Preparations before the session

In addition to the usual pre-session things you need to take care of, there is the matter of props.

Props

You will need various supplies in order to make characters and props and a stage. A table or desk where the computer is standing usually works for the stage, but make sure there is a large enough clear space, at least two feet by three feet (60cm x 100cm). Useful items from which to make characters and props are:
  • kitchen rolls
  • tin cans
  • cereal boxes or tissue boxes
  • drinks bottles
  • sheets of blank paper (A4 or letter size)
  • coloured pencils or pens or crayons
  • pins or sticky tape or rubber bands to hold the sheets of paper to the props boxes etc.
Heavy items tend to work better than light items, so preferably use an unopened can of baked beans rather than an empty one, for example.

Notes (continued)

Follow the instructions!

PaulsRobot in general, and Psycho in particular, are 21st century developments. They are new, and unfamiliar. The more you ignore the instructions and try to wing it, the worse the session will go. Similarly, the more familiar you are with the procedures and what you are supposed to be doing, the better the session will go.

When all else fails, follow the instructions

Really.

Repeating audio commands

Note that the brief audio command at the start of most of the session screens will repeat about every two minutes until you click on the next screen. This is not intended to interrupt your train of thought, but more to keep things moving along.

Don't just chew things over

A live counsellor could make a judgment call a couple of minutes after the command was first given as to whether a client is doing something productive, or is just chewing aimlessly on random thoughts. Since PaulsRobot isn't alive, the two-minute repeat is an alternative. You don't have to go on to the next screen after two minutes if you're really not done, but don't overdo it.

Shutting down

If you feel yourself suddenly shutting down (starting to go to sleep and feeling mentally foggy as a result of heavy sensory/emotional charge being stirred up, not from lack of sleep or eating too much), recognize it as such. Hit the shutting down link visible on most of the session pages for a quick and effective remedy. Note that you have to DO the remedy at that point, not merely read about it!

You will still have to reduce the heavy charge with the ongoing session actions, but you will have successfully dealt with that effect of it for now.

What is helpful and what is not

Not so helpful

Sitting and thinking at length about your topic is not really very therapeutic. Nor is getting lost in writing a huge long "paragraph" about your topic. Most people have been chewing on their concerns for months or years without too much benefit.

Bite-sized chunks

What is helpful is getting on with doing this session procedure with Psycho, broken down into bite-sized chunks of maybe a couple of minutes once you have read the notes and are familiar with the procedure.