Mr. Lankton,

Would Erickson have ever thought that a person can change too quickly? The reason that I am bring up the question is that change over a longer period of time might allow for reflection on different alternatives while "sponteneous" change might not. How can we help a client change at a pace that limits dangenous behavior?

I think that outlining a similiar scenario to one of my recent cases might refine my question. Suppose that a client came to therapy because he was no longer interested in sex. However, he thought that eventually he might like to get married and have a family someday and would like to work on the problem. During the second session, a metaphor appears to have helped the client see his situation in a different light. The following week, he comes to therapy and states that he had unprotected sex with 10 women that week and he really enjoyed himself.

Now, in a sense, his problem is solved. However, he is now engaged in dangerous behavior, and I did not have time to discuss the downsides of this behavior before he acted on it. I know that I cannot possibly think of every scenario, and that the client has to take responsibility for his actions. However, I have a nagging feeling that if change had occurred in a more moderate pace, these issues would have come out in therapy before they were acted upon in the real world.