Integrating Visualization and Awareness Processes into Psychotherapy including EMDR

This provides some basic guidelines for integrating visualization and awareness processes into psychotherapy, with comments for EMDR practitioners included. Use of this document in any form indicates your consent to use such processes only within your scope of practice and in ways that are clinically sound, with clients whom you have assessed as being capable of tolerating exposure to processes that may increase relaxation or awareness.

Some Guidelines for Clinicians Using Such Processes

Specific processes are linked and annotated in the next section below.

EMDR and other approaches intended to produce expedient results can involve creating a positive mental and physical state, and some clinicians believe that this is an important aspect of EMDR and other so-called power therapies, as well as modalities that may produce power therapy-like results. Charles Figley, for example, stresses the relaxation aspect and feels that reciprocal inhibition is important here. Any of the processes you learn which can create a positive or balanced state may facilitate EMDR treatment. Chill Energy Points, below, is a nice generic example. It is quite likely that any process that can link a client's state of distress around an issue with a positive, relaxed state within a sufficiently short period of time will produce power therapy or EMDR like effects, where sustained reductions in distress pertaining to an issue or memory that is not an actual current threat is concerned.

EMDR and other modalities can also involve future pacing(seeing oneself engaging in a desired behavior and in a desired physical and mental state.) The mental rehearsal process is a detailed way to do this.

The methods discussed here not only resolve symptoms, but also lead to valuable cognitive restructuring. However, most clients (most everybody) are missing important skills that can be bolstered by therapists or self-help programs.

1) Stand-Alone: The therapist instructs the client and/or provides handouts or other media to assist with this.

2) As part of a larger process such as EMDR or hypnosis. For example, mental rehearsal would assist in creating a model for behavior, chill energy points could assist in relaxation to allow adequate reprocessing of an issue or to expedite reduction of SUDS in EMDR. (Tapping therapies such as Thought Field Therapy are used for this purpose by many EMDR practitioners.)

3) As part of a chain of processes intended to achieve various purposes or keep the client working on various aspects of a problem. For example Focusing or EMDR might lead to a reduction in distress around an issue, but the client may have a cluster of memories that can be reprocessed while creating models for future behavior.

The Timeline exercise might be a next step.

Example Processes

More sources of processes are listed in the parent document: Oodles of Visualization and Awareness Processes

Chill Energy Points: an example of the energy work that can be integrated into EMDR. This is one of my favoritesfor reducing agitation. After tentative beginnings, good results gave me confidence to bring more and more elements of Asian energy work into therapy. Now that tapping therapies such as TFT have gained favor and are being used to assist in EMDR, increasing numbers of therapists are becoming curious about Asian energy work. I don't subscribe to the traditional beliefs about chi or energy, but I believe the techniques have other reasons for working that are much more down to earth.

Method: Mental Rehearsal: a more extensiveversion of the future pacingused in classic EMDR.Step-by-step instructionswhich can make a good hand out for clients. Includes explanatory material.

Zapping Brainstorming: a lightly structured process that can begood for self-use of EMDRby therapists already comfortable with experiencing EMDR. Sound or alternate tapping is recommended.

Body Mind Breathing Zoning: this illustrates a method for creating a strongsomatic focusthat can be a valuable part of EMDR. I often use such a focus with minimal use of cognition until the client has begun spontaneous cognitive restructuring. Of course, it is not appropriate for all clients.This process is a good example of sensory recruitment,in which body mind therapy processes can be potentiated by increasing the number and focus of senses on the feeling, image, memory or other awareness.
It can facilitatetargetingin EMDR, as well as development of apositive stateas described earlier.

Focusing for Poise: Eugene Gendlin's Focusing process was an early power therapy that did not get the development or full appreciation it deserved. Exploring this process will give you a greater subjective appreciation of the left/right hemispheric balancing believed to be an important element of these methods. The book Focusing by Gendlin goes into much more detail. I use the term "poise" in the guide as a euphemism for objectivity and peace of mind.

The NLP Timeline Exercise: I haven't yet had time to include the instructions. I have used this is a process in EMDR many times, with exciting results. It is explained in detail in the book Timeline Therapy. It is a beautiful hybrid of targeting and future pacing that can itself be enhanced.

Related Pages

Recordings of alternating bilateral sound, guided experiences, brainwave entrainment, and lectures.

Guide to Inner Work Processes