Clean language is a technique primarily used in counseling, psychotherapy and coaching but now also used in education, business, organisational change and health. It has been applied as a research interview technique called clean language interviewing.
Clean language aims to support clients in discovering and developing their own symbols and metaphors, rather than the therapist/coach/interviewer suggesting or contributing their own framing of a topic. In other words, instead of "supporting" the client by offering them ready-made metaphors, when the counselor senses that a metaphor would be useful or that a metaphor is conspicuously absent, the counselor asks the client, "And that's like what?" The client is invited to invent their own metaphor.
Clean language was devised by in the 1980s as a result of his work on clinical methods for resolving clients' traumatic memories. Psychotherapist Cei Davies Linn was closely involved in the early evolution and development of Grove's work such as Clean Language and Epistemological Metaphors. Grove realized many clients were describing their symptoms in metaphors drawn from the words of previous therapists, instead of from their own experience.
Clean language also is the basis for symbolic modeling, a stand-alone method and process for psychotherapy and coaching developed by James Lawley and Penny Tompkins; for clean space; and for systemic modelling, applied in organisational development. Clean language can also be used in addition to a therapist or coach's existing approach.
David Grove
Clean language originated with New Zealand-born and educated David Grove, who drew on his bi-cultural Māori/British roots when designing therapeutic and coaching methods. Grove had degrees from University of Canterbury and University of Otago in New Zealand, and a masters in counselling psychology at Minnesota State University Moorhead. Grove served as a consulting psychologist with the London Phobic Trust, and published a book with Basil Panzer, Resolving Traumatic Memories: Metaphors and Symbols in Psychotherapy (1989/1991). He died on 8 January 2008.
Grove's clean language was initially designed to address the needs of patients who were suffering from traumatic memories, particularly to facilitate in their capability to resolve blocks and phobias. This is achieved through the description of subjective experiences and identifying specific phrases, which are then made less abstract to elicit the link between speech and lived experience. Grove's work on clean language also spawned the field of "emergent knowledge".
Clean language in detail
Prior to the use of the term "clean language" David taught and practiced his methods in the context of healing complex trauma. In the following years his workshop materials included such titles as "Metaphors to Heal by", "Resolving Traumatic Memories", "Healing the Wounded Child Within" and "In the Presence of the Past".
Clean language combines four elements of communication: syntax, wording of questions, vocal qualities, and non-verbal behaviour.
Syntax
In a therapeutic context, clean language questions often make use of the "full 3-part syntax" which has the format: And [client's words/non-verbals] ... and when/as [client's words/ non-verbals] ... [clean question]? This structure is derived from Grove's early hypnotic work, and is designed to direct attention, minimize cognitive load, and make it easier for the client to remain in the inner-directed state that the questions generate. Outside the therapeutic context, a more "everyday" syntax tends to be used.
Wording of questions
Clean language questions seek to minimise content that comes from the questioner's "maps" — metaphors, assumptions, paradigms or sensations — that could direct the questionee's attention away from increased awareness of his or her own (metaphorical) representation of experience thereby "diminishing their epistemological nature".
Clean language offers a template for questions that are as free as possible of the facilitator's suggestions, presuppositions, mind-reading, second guessing, references and metaphors. Clean questions incorporate all or some of the client's specific phrasing and might also include other auditory components of the client's communication such as speed, pitch, tonality. Besides the words of the client, oral sounds (sighs, oo's and ah's) and other nonverbals (e.g. a fist being raised or a line-of-sight) can be replicated or referenced in a question when the facilitator considers they might be of symbolic significance to the client.