On this blog, quite a few of our regular readers are trained professional therapists, many work in hypnotherapy while others are trained in other treatment modalities or mixed disciplines. Some readers may already be familiar with EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), a therapeutic approach developed by Francine Shapiro as a means to resolve the development of trauma-related disorders caused by exposure to distressing, traumatizing, or negative life events, such as rape or military combat. According to Shapiro’s theory,when a traumatic or distressing experience occurs, it may overwhelm usual cognitive and neurological coping mechanisms. The memory and associated stimuli of the event are inadequately processed, and are dysfunctionally stored in an isolated memory network. The goal of EMDR therapy is to process these distressing memories, reducing their lingering influence and allowing clients to develop more adaptive coping mechanisms. There are eight phases to EMDR work with a key component being the eye movement patterns.
Typically, the eye movement exercise is done with the therapist or aid passing a focus object back and forth in front of the client’s face so that the eyes are focused and moving from one focal area within one minute (essentially, passing the finger sideways back and forth within one second will typically do it) and the exercise is done while focusing mentally upon the distressing target that causes stress or pressure but with a safe anchor also installed.
Some folks have adapted the program to a shorter method involving focused trance or hypnosis and collapsing the mental effects into a briefer set. Such is the Infinity Loop Focus which asks that the client focus upon a negative statement or state (“I am afraid of blue monkeys” or “I am worthless” or the like) while moving the eyes in a focused figure eight pattern for five or so minutes while breathing in deeply. At the end of the exercise movement practice, the client stops moving the eyes, breathes in deeply, holds it for a moment, and then while exhaling, shuts the eyes with a self-suggestion along the lines of “I release this negativity” or the like, and then simply keeps the eyes closed for a few moments while breathing and relaxing. Upon opening the eyes, the client is asked to assess the positive difference in the feelings.
Some folks use a target such as the animated image below – one does need to sit closely enough to the screen so that it takes up all or most of the field of vision.
It certainly isn’t canon practice but for some folks it does the trick. Others dispense with the entire rigor so that instead of Abbreviated EMDR, they are doing something along the lines of Micro-EMDR:
If you follow the paintbrush with your eyes while not moving your head, it forces you to use EMDR which is a therapeutic technique to calm anxiety/panic. Watching fish swim causes the same effect.
Certainly, this sort of thing isn’t what Shapiro teaches or had in mind but some folks do find it beneficial. Honestly, I would suggest using hypnotic conditioning with or instead of this or traditional EMDR – particularly when dealing with the sort of major traumas the method was originally developed for.
If you’re in Taipei and interested in hypnosis, check the services page linked to in the top left sidebar. Not in Taipei? Check the store for recordings in the same menu area as well as links to lots and lots of info and goodies. Of course, browsing this site will bring you to a digital ton of positive resources on a wide variety of topics as well.
Brian
www.BrianDavidPhillips.net
