Metamodel

In therapeutic questioning, a distinction is made between the surface structure and the deep structure. The surface structure means everything that is said in words. In the deep structure, the unspoken is also important. In order to find out what the other person really means, it is helpful to recognize and understand his statements in the deep structure. In this way, we finally understand the background of the experience without having to assume or interpret it. The surface structure alone is incomplete and provokes confirmatory search processes in the listener; it also makes it more difficult to check the statement accurately. Especially in therapeutic questioning of the patient, it is useful to broaden his perspective already at this point, thus opening up new scope for action. Metalanguage can also be used in hypnosis.