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Cause and Effect Relationships
The Meta Model

One aim of therapeutic change work is to move the client towards a resourceful Òat causeÓ position over his life and away from an Òat effectÓ position.

For example, the client who says, ÒMy father makes me angryÓ is starting from a very different position from the person who says, ÒI get angry at my father.Ó

Many clients operate out of a belief structure that the solutions to their problems are extraneous and therefore not of their making.  ÒThe doctor says I have problems with my nerves.  He gives me tablets.Ó

The <Cause> and <Effect> are linked by ÒBe causeÓ although this may not always be verbalised.  When speaking, the effect is often what is stated first, as in:

ÒI canÕt help myself, my mother didnÕt love me.Ó

 

For example:  <I canÕt help myself>  ÒBE CAUSEÓ  <my mother didnÕt like me>

The Excuse Machine

ÒI canÕt help being so overweight, it is my metabolism.Ó
ÒHow can I do exercise when I feel so tired all the time?Ó
ÒI didnÕt ask to be so depressed, it just happened.Ó
ÒI donÕt know why it always goes wrong, I guess other people just donÕt like me.Ó
ÒI canÕt help it, I have a ÔconditionÕ.Ó
ÒI have been this way for so long, it is far too late to teach a dog new tricks.Ó
ÒHow could anyone ever be happy after what happened to me?Ó
ÒI am so unhappy because my father never bought me a pony when I was a child.Ó
ÒMy depression is because my inner child never got the attention it deserved.Ó

Cause and Effect statements reflect the personÕs beliefs and model of the world.  At the point of expression the person is unlikely to view these statements as beliefs but will see them as irrefutable ÒfactÓ and statements of the world.

Robert DiltsÕ Model, ÒSleight of Mouth PatternsÓ outlines strategies to challenge this aspect of the clientÕs meta-model.