Steve Andreas > Books Authored > Six Blind Elephants > Chapter 12

Counterexamples

Counterexamples are examples that are �counter� to, or the opposite of, the examples included in a category. �Do other events also drive you nuts, even though she doesn�t laugh?� If you get a �Yes� response, it tells you something very important: that many other events cause the same problem response. If you didn�t ask this question, you wouldn�t realize the full extent of the problem; you would only be working with part of it.

When you find that �, �, �, and D behaviors also drive him nuts, you can ask the client �What do these (Laughing, and �, �, � and D) all have in common a way to ask about criteria. The answer to this question will often clarify the essence of the problem immensely. �They�re all examples of disrespect,� or �They�re all times when someone is being whiny and dependent.�

The other kind of counterexample is when laughing occurred, but he wasn�t driven nuts, what Solution Focused Therapy calls exceptions. Comparing an example that caused a problem and a very similar example that didn�t cause a problem usually makes it easy to detect the crucial elements of the person�s experience that need to be changed�the �difference that makes a difference.� �Well, last night, she laughed in that same way, but I liked it, because I knew she was laughing with me, and not at me.� That allows you to focus on the precise differences between the two. �How did you know that she was laughing with you, instead of laughing at you? Was it the tone of her voice, her posture, or the way she looked at you, or looked away? What evidence are you using?� If you didn�t have a counterexample, you might spend a great deal of time gathering information that was totally irrelevant to understanding how he gets to the problem response.

This kind of positive counterexample is usually a �gold mine� of information, not only about the problem, but exactly what is needed to resolve it. It is used in a wide range of NLP patterns, from reducing an allergic response (4, ch. 5) to the many forms of �mapping across� submodalities from a problem to a solution. These patterns include Grief Resolution, (6, 4, ch. 11), Shame Resolution (7, 4, ch. 13) and the Forgiveness Pattern. (10)