How to Use This Script

This script is designed to be read aloud during your coaching session. "You" sometimes addresses you as the coach and sometimes your loved one — just as it would in a natural conversation. Speak it in your own voice; paraphrase where it feels right. Sections in blockquotes are exercises to do together.

You: "Welcome back. How did the tracking go? Let's look at what you found."

You: "We're looking for patterns. I see here on Wednesday when you walked to the mailbox, your mood was a 4. That's higher than most days. What was that like?"

You: "There are two kinds of positive activities. Pleasure activities are things that feel good — watching a favorite show, petting the dog, eating something you enjoy. Mastery activities are things that give you a sense of accomplishment — doing the dishes, answering one email, taking a shower."

You: "When you're depressed, Mastery activities are often more powerful than Pleasure activities, because they fight the 'I'm useless' narrative. But both matter."

You: "Let's make a menu. We're not committing to doing any of these yet. We're just brainstorming options. And I want to include really small things — like 'open the blinds' or 'brush my teeth.' Those count."

Compassionate Inquiry: The Compassionate Pause

You: "Gabor Maté talks about the difference between reacting and responding. Reacting is automatic — it comes from the survival brain. Responding is conscious — it comes from the part of you that can observe what's happening. The space between the two is where healing lives."

You: "Here's a practice I want us both to try this week. When you feel that surge — the frustration, the hurt, the 'here we go again' — instead of acting on it, try this:"

CI Exercise: The Compassionate Pause

Pause. Put your hand on your chest. Feel your heartbeat.

Name it. 'Right now I am feeling ____________.'

Locate it. 'I feel it in my ____________ (chest, throat, stomach, jaw).'

Ask. 'What story is this feeling connected to? Is this about right now, or is this old?'

Choose. 'What do I actually want to happen next?'

You: "This is not about suppressing the emotion. It's about creating a gap between the trigger and the response — everything else is just reaction.”

Go Deeper

Binaural Beats — Between Sessions

The Alpha Wave Music Studio has deep-rest and calm-alertness tracks built around binaural beat frequencies. Depression flattens the reward system — the dopamine circuitry that makes effort feel worth it. Low-frequency binaural beats (theta and delta range) support the kind of passive restoration that doesn't require motivation to initiate. Use them when you are depleted from the relentless low-grade effort of supporting someone in a depressive episode.

Open Alpha Wave Music Studio [blocked]

For Clinicians: Binaural beats require stereo headphones — the left and right channels carry different frequencies, and the brain generates the perceived third frequency from the difference. Isochronic tones (a single pulsing tone) do not require headphones and may be preferable for clients with sensory sensitivities, auditory processing differences, or who find stereo headphones activating. Both are available in the Alpha Wave Music Studio.