3 - The Six-Step Clinical Protocol

Toye Oyelese

Welcome, everyone, to another episode of Mindlessness: The Power of Articulations — Clinician Series. I’m Dr. Toye Oyelese—and today, we’re rolling up our sleeves and getting practical. If you’ve listened to the first two episodes, you know we’ve spent some quality time with the why—unpacking the framework and the odd magic of mindless repetition. But today, I want to give you a clear path for implementation. It’s that nuts-and-bolts episode where if you’ve got a notepad, you’ll probably want to have it handy.

Toye Oyelese

So, let’s dive right into your role as a clinician here. See, with this approach—verbal articulation therapy—your job is not to sit back and, you know, “mm-hmm” your way through, hoping that the patient hits some insight that changes everything. Instead, you’re—what I like to call—an active facilitator. Not the big boss, barking out orders, but not just a neutral reflector either. Your hands are on the steering wheel, but the patient’s got their foot on the pedals. It’s about guiding them through a very particular structure, without putting your words in their mouth.

Toye Oyelese

People sometimes ask—can you just give the patient the articulation and get it over with? And the answer is…that kind of defeats the purpose. The statement has to resonate with them. It has to feel and sound like their own words, or it doesn’t stick. Years ago, in my first few months working in Kelowna, I remember getting tempted to just hand out the words. I’d get impatient when someone was stuck—wanted so badly to jump in and say, “How about this statement?” But the times I resisted, waited for them to wrangle with language, that’s when things actually moved. I’d see them trying out options, getting frustrated, laughing at a silly word, and, finally, landing on something that actually felt right to them.

Toye Oyelese

You don’t have to over-explain the theory. Keep it simple—like, “Look, we focus on what you say out loud, because that’s something you can control—even when your thoughts and feelings seem totally uncooperative. By getting your spoken words and actions going in the same direction, your thoughts often catch up.” That’s it. Patients don’t need a lecture, they need a sense of what, practically, they’re being asked to do. Less is more here.

Toye Oyelese

Alright, let’s get to the protocol itself. It’s a six-step process—structured, but, honestly, pretty accessible once you get the hang of it. And, just a heads up: if you’ve got a long, complicated clinical day, knowing the flow helps things not go off the rails, trust me.

Toye Oyelese

So, step one—framework education. That’s what we just talked about: two, maybe three minutes, explaining the SW plus A plus T equals D, but in plain language! You say, “You’ve got what you say, what you do, and what you think—thoughts being the hardest to wrangle. But what you say? You can always choose that.” Let them know that it’s about setting a positive direction using spoken words, not about believing or analyzing, just—saying.

Toye Oyelese

Step two — Do a current state assessment. Ask your patient for two or three action words that describe their current direction in the area they want to change. I might say, 'If you had to use just a couple of verbs — what are you mostly doing right now?' You're listening for honest words — worrying, avoiding, doubting.Now, if they give you adjectives instead of verbs — 'anxious' rather than 'worrying' — that's fine. Don't correct them. The word 'will' in the articulation does the work. 'Anxious' becomes 'I will be calm' — and that's still an action statement. The 'will be' construction turns any adjective into a direction.

Toye Oyelese

Then, step three—desired state definition. Simple, but don’t rush it. You turn to, “Okay, let’s flip those. If you were pointed in a positive direction instead, what verbs would capture that?” So, “worrying” might become “trusting.” “Avoiding” might turn into “engaging.” And the trick is to avoid those “not” constructions—it’s not helpful to say “not worrying”; better to name what you’d be doing instead.

Toye Oyelese

Step four—articulation construction. This is where you stitch those verbs or adjectives into an “I will” statement—future tense, always. Now, confession time: I still, after all these years, get tongue-tied on “articulation.” Usually, I say it three times, slow down, and stumble—for some reason my brain wants to say “articulational…” Anyway, it’s a good chance to show patients we’re all human, and it lightens the mood. Focus on clear, direct statements: “I will be confident and decisive.” Or “I will trust. I will engage.” Do a resonance check by having them say it out loud. If it feels awkward, adjust! Every word should land comfortably. If “confident” is a stretch but “secure” fits, go with secure. It’s got to be theirs.

Toye Oyelese

Step five—repetition prescription. Don’t be vague here; give specific numbers. Baseline: ten reps, ten times a day. I often tell folks, “Do a set in the shower, maybe one in the car, another after lunch—just spread them out throughout the day.” For tougher days, crank up the ratio—a hundred, two hundred, even three hundred repetitions if they’re in crisis. And, crucially, only one articulation, one focus. Don’t let them split across several problems—the value is in repetition and concentration.

Toye Oyelese

And of course—step six: confidence and conviction monitoring. At every follow-up, ask, “On a scale of zero to a hundred, how confident are you that you’ll actually do these repetitions?” and, “How convicted are you that this direction fits?” If confidence or conviction is under eighty percent, that’s a signal to trouble-shoot. Practical barriers? Words don’t feel right? Figure it out together. Sometimes, the statement just needs a tweak, and sometimes the problem is logistical. Either way, you address it right then, right there.

Toye Oyelese

Remember, as we discussed in the last episode, the power isn’t in convincing yourself it’ll work; it’s in the plain, repeated doing. “Don’t try to believe it. Don’t analyze—just say it, like you’re brushing your teeth.” That’s where the magic—if you can call it that—happens.

Toye Oyelese

So let’s talk about what can go off track—because, honestly, when clinicians start using this model, there are some classic mistakes. First, the urge to over-explain—maybe you’re eager, maybe you want to make sure the patient buys in, but too much theory does not help. Nobody needs a deep dive into neural pathways or cognitive dissonance at this point. Like I said earlier, keep it practical—it’s all about the doing.

Toye Oyelese

Mistake number two is—you guessed it—supplying the articulation for the patient. It’s easy to think, well, this’ll save time. Problem is, the articulation won’t resonate—it’ll sound like your voice, not theirs. And I see this every month in supervision groups; clinicians want to be helpful and end up doing the heavy lifting for the patient.

Toye Oyelese

Third—allowing them to split articulation across different issues. I’ve made this mistake more than once. Someone starts with, “I will be calm in meetings, I will stand up to my mum, I will walk more.” Nope, hold the line—one statement, centered on the core direction, even if it means some discomfort at first.

Toye Oyelese

Fourth—vague instructions. If you say, “Repeat this throughout the day,” you’ll get ten repetitions—or none. If you give concrete numbers, patients actually know what to do, and—shocking, I know—they’ll do it.

Toye Oyelese

Last—forgetting the mindlessness piece. We all want proof something’s working, but constantly checking “Is it helping yet?” just gums up the process. Remind them: don’t analyze, just do.

Toye Oyelese

Now, quick word about boundaries. There are times when this protocol isn’t enough. Think of the “glasses caveat”—like teaching someone to drive before they get their vision sorted. If a patient is so distressed they can’t even participate in this conversation, can’t generate a single positive direction word, or their confidence is flat zero—this is when you pause and look at neurochemistry. Sometimes pharmacological support needs to come first, or alongside. It’s not a failure; it’s good clinical judgment.

Toye Oyelese

For example, I had a patient, years back, who just couldn’t come up with even one positive verb about their future—total blockade. That was my cue to step back, check if depression or severe anxiety needed more direct intervention. And that’s fine—this method often works in tandem with medication, building traction as symptoms start to ease.

Toye Oyelese

In the end, remember, it’s about being directive on process, collaborative on content, and flexible enough to recognize when another layer of support needs to come first. Avoid the common missteps, tailor the protocol thoughtfully, and your patient will have a good shot at real change. Next time, we’ll dig into the boundaries and applications—so, which presentations is this protocol best for, and when might you need to choose something else entirely? I hope you’ll join me for that episode. Until then, thanks for spending the time with me and…give those articulations a try.