exercise · all tools
Split Brain
After a short meditation, one person finds two parts of themselves that are at odds, describes how each speaks, and assigns one to each of two partners — who then hold the conversation aloud while the owner directs, feeding lines and corrections until it sounds like the inside of their head. The manual borrows the idea from Internal Family Systems; it says the effect is clarifying for everyone.
- Parts that are 'at odds' are sometimes the ones a person is least at peace with; the manual's connect-to-self meditation before the naming is doing real work and should not be skipped
Practical
- Time
- 30-45 min
- Group
- 3–∞ · triads
- Settings
- in-person, online
- Mechanisms
- perspective-taking, dialogic-encounter, emotional-processing
- Change scope
- state → skill · repeatable
Instructions
- Where
- authrev.org/ar-games-manual — Authentic Relating Games Manual, paid
- Availability
- In the source document — the instructions live inside the material linked, on its terms
- Licence
- CC BY-SA 4.0 (Authentic Relating Games Manual)
Source link checked 31 Aug 2026 — unchanged since we recorded it on 29 Aug 2026
This directory describes and points home; the instructions stay with the people who made them.
Origin
Invented simultaneously by Sara Ness and Jessica Tartaro, and probably by others before; Dissonance Doctor variation by Chad Phillips (Austin Love Juggernaut) — Authentic Relating (Authentic Relating Games Manual, 2025 edition); draws on Internal Family Systems (Richard Schwartz)
In this directory via Authentic Relating Games Manual
Variation in the manual: Dissonance Doctor, where two listeners each track one side and reflect it back without assessment. Can also be played in pairs.
status: checked · added 2026-08-31