North Star Conversations Transcript: Michael Blumberg on the Ice Cube Metaphor—Why Therapy Takes Time
Michael Blumberg, LCPC, shares a metaphor he uses with patients to describe the pacing of meaningful change in therapy. Drawing on the image of an ice cube slowly freezing solid, he and Brandon discuss why early relief can be misleading—and why sustained effort matters.
Brandon Gimbel (00:00)
What is one thing that you find yourself saying to a lot of your patients?
Michael Blumberg (00:04)
That's interesting. I hadn't thought about this until you just asked it. This takes time. I talk to my patients about treatment, specifically treatment of CBT and ERP of being sort of like ice cubes forming in an ice tray, which is to say that we're going to get some cosmetic changes quickly. We're going to make some changes. They're going to feel good. You're going to start to feel better and that should happen relatively quickly. But in order for this to become second nature, we have to give the center of the ice cube time to solidify.
Brandon Gimbel (00:38)
I like that metaphor. I think a lot about that but in a different way. But it fits well. I'll tell my patients that they come to treatment because they're in pain, because they are suffering. No one calls me just to come in and hang out, as nice as that would be. It doesn't happen. They call me because they're hurting. What you're describing with the ice cube metaphor, I like because that initial pain can recede, can lift, and patients might say, "look, I feel better, I'll see you later." The problem with that is it might be superficial It might be superficial relief and what they do need is continued work until the middle of that ice cube has become solid. So I think that's an apt metaphor.