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Substance Abuse
The "Monkey Trap"....
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<blockquote data-quote="Mikey" data-source="post: 34903" data-attributes="member: 3579"><p>Had an interesting discussion with difficult child's therapist yesterday. We both think that difficult child is at a nexus, and that he feels some internal pressure to make positive changes - but is resistant.</p><p></p><p>Situation was described as a "monkey trap". In the jungle, one way monkeys are caught is to hollow out a small log or coconut and tie it off to a tree. Then a hole is drilled into the trap just big enough for a monkey to squeeze his hand into the hole. Bait (fruit, nuts, etc...) are then put in the trap.</p><p></p><p>The idea is that the hole is big enough for the monkey to get his hand <strong>into</strong> the trap; but once he grabs hold of the bait and his hand becomes a fist, it won't fit back <strong>out</strong> of the hole. To get his hand out, the monkey would have to let go of the bait.</p><p></p><p>But the monkey never lets go of the bait, stays stuck in the trap, and becomes dinner later that day.</p><p></p><p>Therapist used the term to describe difficult child's situation because in order for his life to get better, he has to let go of some things that are keeping him down (friends, drugs, defiance, etc). He <strong>knows</strong> his life would be better without these things, but is too afraid to let go of what he has, even though he knows it's ultimately bad for him.</p><p></p><p>i.e. his hand is in the trap, and unless he lets go of the bait, he'll be stuck forever (or become someone's dinner :frown: )</p><p></p><p>He knows what he should (has to?) do; we think he even may <em>want</em> to do the right things, but is too afraid to let go because this is all he knows now, and has let go of everything else. He's scared of the unknown future without his current "friends" and "lifestyle".</p><p></p><p>Monkey Trap. We're trying to get his hand off the bait and out of the hole.</p><p></p><p>I'd not heard this description used before, but I found it both interesting and very descriptive of our overall goal. Thought others might find it interesting, too.</p><p></p><p>Mikey</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mikey, post: 34903, member: 3579"] Had an interesting discussion with difficult child's therapist yesterday. We both think that difficult child is at a nexus, and that he feels some internal pressure to make positive changes - but is resistant. Situation was described as a "monkey trap". In the jungle, one way monkeys are caught is to hollow out a small log or coconut and tie it off to a tree. Then a hole is drilled into the trap just big enough for a monkey to squeeze his hand into the hole. Bait (fruit, nuts, etc...) are then put in the trap. The idea is that the hole is big enough for the monkey to get his hand [b]into[/b] the trap; but once he grabs hold of the bait and his hand becomes a fist, it won't fit back [b]out[/b] of the hole. To get his hand out, the monkey would have to let go of the bait. But the monkey never lets go of the bait, stays stuck in the trap, and becomes dinner later that day. Therapist used the term to describe difficult child's situation because in order for his life to get better, he has to let go of some things that are keeping him down (friends, drugs, defiance, etc). He [b]knows[/b] his life would be better without these things, but is too afraid to let go of what he has, even though he knows it's ultimately bad for him. i.e. his hand is in the trap, and unless he lets go of the bait, he'll be stuck forever (or become someone's dinner [img]:frown:[/img] ) He knows what he should (has to?) do; we think he even may [i]want[/i] to do the right things, but is too afraid to let go because this is all he knows now, and has let go of everything else. He's scared of the unknown future without his current "friends" and "lifestyle". Monkey Trap. We're trying to get his hand off the bait and out of the hole. I'd not heard this description used before, but I found it both interesting and very descriptive of our overall goal. Thought others might find it interesting, too. Mikey [/QUOTE]
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