The Line Protocol

The steps

1. Name the feeling.
2. Ask: does it match the situation, or is it larger?
3. Ask: what does this remind me of?
4. Name one difference between then and now.
5. Name one resource you have now.
6. Choose based on now. Close the Loop.

If-Then plan: If [trigger] happens, then I will [pre-committed response].

Where it comes from

• Session 4 — the full handoutWhat it is for, when it goes wrong, and what to say
• WB 1.4 — The Line (p.8)The workbook page that practises it
• Chapter 4. Trigger maps: Chapter 11.In the book

Prefer it one step at a time? The same protocol as a guided runner in the app, which also keeps a private record if you want one.

This is one of the tools a seventeen-session series teaches, ninety minutes at a time, in a room of six to twelve people. It is peer-facilitated and free to host.

Check what stayed 3 questions

Answer in your own words, out loud or on paper. Nothing is scored, nothing is marked, and nothing is stored — this is for noticing what you have, not for anybody to grade.

1. You have identified what the reaction reminds you of. What is the next step, and how many do you need?

   What the material says

   Name one difference between then and now.

2. What do you name about the present, after naming the difference?

   What the material says

   Name one resource you have now.

3. What is the anchor phrase for this tool?

   What the material says

   That happened before. This is now.