Do you have disturbing or traumatic memories that continue to cause problems in your life? Have you tried to move past the things of the past, but find that they continue coming up in some way and you know that you will not truly move forward until you have processed them?
EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, has become a gold standard in the treatment of trauma, as well as for processing other disturbing memories that continue to affect someone’s life that they might not consider “traumatic.” As we have absolutely come to know, negative experiences in our lives can highly impact us, sometimes continuing to cause us issues years down the road,
including experiences of anxiety and
depression. One of the fantastic things
about the EMDR protocol is that it is a
very structured way to determine early
memories that may be impacting your life now. Utilizing the EMDR protocol we can often resolve these issues so that they are no longer disturbing to you, or at least far less disturbing.
I completed EMDR training approved by the EMDR International Association (EMDRIA) and enjoy working with my clients toward resolution of past disturbing memories.
The Flash Technique was developed as an offshoot of EMDR therapy. In EMDR, the client actively processes their memory, focusing on it and talking about it in their therapy session. The Flash Technique was created as a way to briefly touch on a traumatic memory if it is too distressing to talk about. Rather than talking about their memory in detail, the clinician talks with their client about a “positive engaging focus,” or something they have a positive association with, such as a vacation spot, pet, or favorite music. Much of the processing done during The Flash Technique is presumed to be subconscious. It is amazing to see clients’ distress levels go down regarding their memory (which continues to be lightly touched upon at check-in points throughout the session).
I am trained in the Flash Technique, including the Advanced Flash Technique course, and enjoy utilizing this useful tool with clients.
