An analogy

We use this analogy to explain AMBIT's use of Mentalizing in supervisory or consultative relationships:

A stone thrown into a pond creates a predictable pattern. At the centre of the disturbance, the water is chaotic, patternless, and this is analogous to the situation that the KeyWorker finds him or herself in when working up close to a young person and family in crisis. In such situations it is difficult to see what is happening, why, and where it is likely to lead.

For an observer on the bank, however, a more predictable, patterned response is clearer: the further out from the original splash, the more the chaos at the centre resolves itself into smooth, outward-flowing circular ripples. These travel at a predictable speed, etc, and on the grounds that what can be understood or predicted can also better be withstood, the observer on the bank can feed useful information back in to the KeyWorker at the chaotic centre.

This is key to the notion of SupervisoryStructures in AMBIT, and in particular informs the practice of Thinking Together, as well as the Reflective Quorum, as well the notion of the MetaTeam.

A similar example is the Dive Boat analogy.