Yesterday's solution, today's problem. Psychological symptoms are behaviors, thoughts and/or feelings that we don't like. From one point of view, they represent dysfunction, and we strive to remove them as quickly as possible. We try, but we don't always succeed. From another point of view, a symptom is much more than a meaningless consequence of an underlying malfunction. It may, for example, be thought of as a symbolic communication from the unconscious mind. Or, it might be thought of as an unconsciously generated solution to a problem appreciated primarily, or exclusively, at the unconscious level. In either case, it can be helpful to understand why we have the symptom and what its intended purpose is, before we attempt to remove it. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to achieve this goal. The one we'll consider here is both useful and fun. What we are looking for is a simple way to retrieve information from the unconscious mind; what we will build and use is called a mental gopher.

A mental gopher is a visual image that functions to retrieve information from the unconscious mind. By way of illustration, I'll show you what one my gophers looks like at present. Cute, yes?!

Now, you are free to construct your gopher in any fashion you like. Since you are obviously far less frivolous than I, you'll probably want to choose a gopher that resembles some noteworthy historical figure... say, like George Washington? The only requirement is that you feel positive towards your gopher and vice versa. You are also free to change the appearance of your gopher. In fact, it's a good idea to experiment until you find a visage you feel really good about.

Creating your gopher is simple, and fun. Choose the construct (i.e., visual image) you want to use as your gopher, and imagine a sensory interaction with that construct. The only constraint on your choice is that you should feel good about it ... get positive vibes. For example, suppose you choose Winnie the Pooh. Close your eyes and imagine seeing a little Pooh-bear. Have a conversation (internal, please), introduce yourself and explain that you will be working together for awhile. That's all it takes. Or, suppose you choose to talk to the spaceship's computer like Captain Kirk did on the Enterprise. In this case there is no visual image, just a pleasant female voice.

If you are unable to create a gopher you can relate to positively, do not create any at all. This unlikely situation may mean you are currently imitating a stick-in-the-mud, or it may be indicative of an inner conflict of some sort. If it's the latter, I recommend that you seek professional help to resolve the situation. In either case, if interacting with a gopher doesn't feel good, and right, do not do it.

Once you have a gopher, what can you do with it? Frankly, we don't know the limits, yet. Your gopher represents conscious access to your unconscious mind. Anything your unconscious mind can do is now potentially accessible to a conscious request. Please do not be mislead by my humorous presentation. Gophers are not a joke. I have been using them for years with my clients and they can be helpful in a number of ways.

I suggest you make the following general request of your gopher: if you make any request that might be detrimental to your physical or mental well-being, your gopher should tell you, "request denied" and let you know the reason for the denial. Stipulate that, ultimately, the acceptance or rejection of a request be left to the greater wisdom of your unconscious. If you have more sense than a reckless explorer type, a safer approach would be to only use your gopher in ways that have been mapped out by those foolish types that go mucking about in unknown territory. Here is one way gophers are being used successfully: