Circular Processing

In its pure form, circular processing is not used in this system. More precisely, its logic is embedded in the processors and automatic protocols, but I do not see the point in performing it manually. Nevertheless, since this term has already been mentioned earlier, it makes sense to briefly explain what it means, what processes are involved, and why it is called “circular.”

Circular processing involves working not only with your own position, but also with those internal models of other people or entities that are connected to the material being processed. Its goal is to leave no unaccounted fragments in the mind that could continue to hold the problem in place. During such processing, a person sequentially shifts attention to different “points of view” associated with the situation and processes the material that arises.

At first glance, this may seem strange: how can you “process something on behalf of another”? In reality, however, the work is not done with the real person, but with their representation in your mind. Any interaction we experience in life does not occur directly with another person, but with their internal model — a set of perceptions, expectations, interpretations, and emotions. Therefore, when analyzing a problem, images of the people involved almost always surface, and within our internal picture they have their own “attitude” toward what is happening and toward our attempts to change something.

A simple example. Suppose the problem being processed is “I hate my neighbor.” The person has processed the material from their own side and then asks: is there anyone who, in my perception, is “against” this change? The answer is usually obvious — the image of the neighbor immediately arises in the mind. In classical circular processing, the next step is a shift of identification to this model and working with the material associated with it. It is important to emphasize: this is not “working with the neighbor,” but working with how the neighbor is represented in your psyche.

When attention is held on this internal model, accumulated material begins to surface: judgments, accusations, irritation, images, grievances — everything that was previously in the background and not directly recognized. This material is noted and then processed in the usual way. After discharge, attention returns to the original position, and the cycle is completed.

The meaning of this approach is simple. Even if it seems that “from your side everything has already been processed,” active representations of other participants in the situation may still remain in the mind, continuing to support tension and the old scenario. Circular processing allows these residual elements to be removed as well. That is why many authors who worked with similar techniques recommended always taking into account such “internal oppositions,” no matter how strange they may seem.

In practice, people may discover that in their internal picture the most unexpected figures “object” to the resolution of the problem: relatives, abstract authorities, animals, symbolic images. From the standpoint of working with the psyche, this is not fundamentally important. If there is a charge associated with the topic in the mind, it makes sense to discharge it. How logical or absurd the image appears does not matter: we are dealing not with reality as such, but with internal content.

It is important to emphasize once again: within this system, we do not use classical manual circular processing. It is cumbersome, tiring, and offers no advantage over the automated approach. The logic of circular processing is already embedded in the processors and protocols — including those most frequently used. This allows the material to be covered quite thoroughly without forcing the person to manually track all possible “points of resistance.”

Therefore, when working with protocols, there is no need to perform circular processing separately: it is already part of the mechanism. This topic is presented here only to clarify the processes underlying the system and why it works reliably even without manual processing of all roles.