The Smoke and the Fire of Catalyst

[reeay]

Getting to the 'heart of the matter' (to that fire) is much like peeling an onion. You go on an exploratory journey within and begin to shed one piece at a time, until you get to the core. In psychotherapy, one big part of the therapeutic process is understanding self and formulating the problem, then articulating the problems (the issue and the emotional experience around the issue) in a precise way. When you are able to clearly articulate those things, the emotional charge lowers, then new 'leads' are presented and you repeat the process until you get to the heart of things. You spiral closer into the fire, it gets too hot, you recede, then you get closer and recede, then get closer... It's a long-term process of exploration.

Symptoms are consequences of pre-existing problems, therefore within the cause-effect cycle, the symptoms are effects. The cause of the problem is actually the 'effect' of an even deeper issue. So I guess it's working backwards.