EDMR Therapy: 2 Manuscripts in 1 - Harnessing Eye Movements for Healing

By Samantha Hartwell

Embark on a profound journey of healing and transformation with "EMDR Therapy: 2 Manuscripts in 1 - Harnessing Eye Movements for Healing." This comprehensive guide unveils the transformative power of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy in addressing emotional wounds and facilitating deep, lasting healing.

Volume 1: EMDR Healing Techniques

In the first manuscript, readers are guided through the intricacies of EMDR Therapy's innovative approach to healing. With clear explanations and real-world examples, you'll gain a solid understanding of how eye movements serve as a catalyst for processing traumatic memories and alleviating distress. This volume equips therapists and individuals alike with actionable techniques to effectively utilize EMDR Therapy, enabling emotional release and lasting relief.

Volume 2: The Science Behind EMDR

Transitioning into the second volume, delve into the scientific underpinnings of EMDR Therapy. Through engaging explanations and expert insights, you'll explore the neurological processes that make EMDR Therapy a groundbreaking modality for trauma recovery. Gain a deep appreciation for how bilateral stimulation taps into the brain's innate capacity to heal, while also discovering the psychological mechanisms that drive transformative change.

"EMDR Therapy: 2 Manuscripts in 1" empowers you to:

Master EMDR Techniques: Learn practical applications of EMDR Therapy to heal trauma, manage distress, and enhance emotional well-being.

Understand the Science: Gain insights into the scientific principles behind EMDR Therapy and its impact on the brain and psyche.

Facilitate Healing: Discover the power of harnessing eye movements to facilitate profound emotional release and lasting healing.

With compassionate guidance, readers will uncover a holistic approach to healing that transcends traditional therapy methods. Whether you're a therapist looking to expand your toolkit or an individual seeking solace and growth, this book offers a comprehensive resource for harnessing the transformative potential of EMDR Therapy.

Embark on a journey of healing, self-discovery, and empowerment. "EMDR Therapy: 2 Manuscripts in 1 - Harnessing Eye Movements for Healing" illuminates the path to emotional liberation and lasting well-being through the remarkable practice of EMDR Therapy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vede Marius
• Release date: Aug 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9781664087019

Book preview

EMDR therapy

––––––––

2 Manuscripts in 1 - Harnessing Eye Movements for Healing

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1. The Phobia Protocol Single Traumatic Event Script Notes

CHAPTER 2. The therapist’s corner

CHAPTER 3. Clinicians’ corner

CHAPTER 4. Important take-home messages

CHAPTER 5. Treating Attachment Trauma in Children Protocol Script

CHAPTER 6. Attachment Resource Development

CHAPTER 7. Subjective Units of Disturbance

CHAPTER 8. Patterns of Attachment

CHAPTER 9. The state of mind

CHAPTER 1. The Phobia Protocol Single Traumatic Event Script Notes

Determine to What Extent the Client Fulfills the DSM-5 Criteria of Specific

Phobia

A specific phobia is an intense and irrational fear of a specified object or situation. A phobia is an excessive and overwhelming fear that results in avoidance or extreme distress. Some phobias are centered on a specific fear object, while others are complex and tied to different situations or circumstances.

Phobias affect about 19 million adults, and women are two times more likely than men to have a specific phobia.1 Some people experience multiple specific phobias simultaneously. Approximately 75% of people with a specific phobia fear more than one object or situation.2

DSM-5 Criteria for a Specific Phobia Diagnosis

A fear and a phobia are not the same, so it's important to know the difference. Many people experience fears or aversions to objects or situations, but this does not necessarily mean that they would be diagnosed with a specific phobia.

Therapists cannot use a lab test to make this diagnosis, so they and other mental health professionals consult the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5th Edition). This guide provides diagnostic criteria for specific phobia from the American Psychiatric Association:3

Unreasonable, excessive fear: The person exhibits excessive or unreasonable, persistent and intense fear triggered by a specific object or situation.

Immediate anxiety response: The fear reaction must be out of proportion to the actual danger and appears almost instantaneously when presented with the object or situation.

Avoidance or extreme distress: The individual goes out of their way to avoid the object or situation, or endures it with extreme distress.

Life-limiting: The phobia significantly impacts the individual’s school, work, or personal life.

Six months duration: In children and adults, the duration of symptoms must last for at least six months.

Not caused by another disorder: Many anxiety disorders have similar symptoms. A doctor or therapist would first have to rule out similar conditions such as agoraphobia, obsessional-compulsive disorder (OCD), and separation anxiety disorder before diagnosing a specific phobia.

Recognizing Fear As Irrational Is Not Required

In previous DSM editions, adults with specific phobias had to recognize that their fears are out of proportion to reality, but children did not. The 2013 edition now says the adults no longer have to recognize the irrationality of their behavior to receive a diagnosis.

Types of Specific Phobias

There are five types of specific phobias:3

Natural/environment type: These are phobias of nature, weather, and environmental events or situations. These can include the fear of thunder and lightning (astraphobia) or water (aquaphobia).

Injury type: This type of fear is related to a fear of physical harm or injury. These include a fear of the dentist (dentophobia) or injections (trypanophobia).

Animal type: These fears are centered on animals or insects. This can include the fear of dogs (cynophobia), snakes (ophidiophobia), and insects (entomophobia).

Situational type: This type of phobia centers on fears triggered by specific situations. These include the fear of washing (ablutophobia) and enclosed spaces (claustrophobia).

Other types: Fears that don't fit into the other four types are included in this category. This can include things such as a fear of dolls, vomiting, or loud sounds.

Causes

There are a number of different factors that can contribute to the development of specific phobias. These include:

Temperament: Research suggests that people who exhibit more behavioral inhibition have a higher risk for a variety of anxiety disorders, including specific phobias.4

Genetics: People who have a family member with an anxiety disorder or phobia are more likely to also develop some type of phobia.5

Experiences: Stressful or traumatic experiences can also play a role in the formation of a phobia. A single incidence of being bitten by a dog, for example, can play a role in the development of a fear of dogs.

What Causes Phobias to Develop?

Treatment

While specific phobias can be serious and debilitating, effective treatments are available. These can help reduce or even eliminate symptoms. They include:

Medication

While medication is not usually used on its own to treat phobias, it may sometimes be prescribed to help people manage physical and emotional reactions associated with phobias. Such medications are usually most effective when paired with psychotherapy.

Psychotherapy

There are a number of psychotherapy techniques that may be used to treat phobias, but exposure therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) are the two that are more commonly used.

Exposure therapy involves gradual and progressive exposure to the feared object or situation.6 Such exposure is paired with relaxation strategies until the fear reaction is reduced or extinguished.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy involves helping people learn to identify and then change the automatic negative thoughts that contribute to phobic reactions.

The DSM-5 states that people with specific disorders also have an elevated risk for suicide. These phobias also tend to commonly occur alongside other mental health conditions including panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance use disorder.2 Because of this, getting appropriate treatment is essential.

Preparing for Treatment

If you have decided it's time to seek professional help for your fear, take some time to prepare yourself for your first appointment. To make the most of your appointment, and help your therapist determine if you have a fear or a phobia, create three lists:

Symptoms: Make a list of physical and psychological symptoms, including your trigger, how you cope with your fear, and things that make your anxiety better or worse.

Personal life: Make a list of anything stressful going on in your life, including relationship issues or trouble at work. Listing new situations that seem like a positive thing, including promotion or a budding romance, is also important, as good news can cause anxiety, too.

Medication and supplements: Make a list of all medication and supplements you take regularly, such as vitamins and herbal teas. These substances can affect your mental state and interfere with treatment.

Questions to Ask Your Therapist

While you're in the therapist's office, you have an opportunity to ask questions. Worried you won't be able to think of any on the spot? Here are some you can use:

What options for treatment do you recommend?

How can I best manage my other health conditions while in treatment?

If I follow the recommended treatment plan, how much improvement can I expect to see, and when?

A Word From Verywell

People who have a specific phobia may be aware that their fears are irrational, but knowing this doesn't mean that their fear isn't very real and often debilitating. Specific phobias are common, and are often rooted in the primal, instinctual fears that many people (even those without a diagnosis of phobia) experience and understand. It is important to remember that effective treatments are available that can help relieve these fears and the symptoms they cause.

Identify the Stimulus Situation (Conditioned Stimulus, CS)

Classical conditioning (also known as Pavlovian or respondent conditioning) is a behavioral procedure in which a biologically potent stimulus (e.g. food) is paired with a previously neutral stimulus (e.g. a triangle). It also refers to the learning process that results from this pairing, through which the neutral stimulus comes to elicit a response (e.g. salivation) that is usually similar to the one elicited by the potent stimulus.

Classical conditioning is distinct from operant conditioning (also called instrumental conditioning), through which the strength of a voluntary behavior is modified by reinforcement or punishment. However, classical conditioning can affect operant conditioning in various ways; notably, classically conditioned stimuli may serve to reinforce operant responses.

Classical conditioning was first studied in detail by Ivan Pavlov, who conducted experiments with dogs and published his findings in 1897. During the Russian physiologist's study of digestion, Pavlov observed that the dogs serving as his subjects drooled when they were being served meat.[1]

Classical conditioning is a basic behavioral mechanism, and its neural substrates are now beginning to be understood. Though it is sometimes hard to distinguish classical conditioning from other forms of associative learning (e.g. instrumental learning and human associative memory), a number of observations differentiate them, especially the contingencies whereby learning occurs.[2]

Together with operant conditioning, classical conditioning became the foundation of behaviorism, a school of psychology which was dominant in the mid-20th century and is still an important influence on the practice of psychological therapy and the study of animal behavior. Classical conditioning has been applied in other areas as well. For example, it may affect the body's response to psychoactive drugs, the regulation of hunger, research on the neural basis of learning and memory, and in certain social phenomena such as the false consensus effect.[3]

Definition

Classical conditioning occurs when a conditioned stimulus (CS) is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US). Usually, the conditioned stimulus is a neutral stimulus (e.g., the sound of a tuning fork), the unconditioned stimulus is biologically potent (e.g., the taste of food) and the unconditioned response (UR) to the unconditioned stimulus is an unlearned reflex response (e.g., salivation). After pairing is repeated the organism exhibits a conditioned response (CR) to the conditioned stimulus when the conditioned stimulus is presented alone. (A conditioned response may occur after only one pairing.) Thus, unlike the UR, the CR is acquired through experience, and it is also less permanent than the UR.[4]

Usually the conditioned response is similar to the unconditioned response, but sometimes it is quite different. For this and other reasons, most learning theorists suggest that the conditioned stimulus comes to signal or predict the unconditioned stimulus, and go on to analyze the consequences of this signal.[5] Robert A. Rescorla provided a clear summary of this change in thinking, and its implications, in his 1988 article Pavlovian conditioning: It's not what you think it is.[6] Despite its widespread acceptance, Rescorla's thesis may not be defensible.[7]

Classical conditioning differs from operant or instrumental conditioning: in classical conditioning, behaviors are modified through the association of stimuli as described above, whereas in operant conditioning behaviors are modified by the effect they produce (i.e., reward or punishment).[8]

Procedures

The best-known and most thorough early work on classical conditioning was done by Ivan Pavlov, although Edwin Twitmyer published some related findings a year earlier.[9] During his research on the physiology of digestion in dogs, Pavlov developed a procedure that enabled him to study the digestive processes of animals over long periods of time. He redirected the animal's digestive fluids outside the body, where they could be measured. Pavlov noticed that his dogs began to salivate in the presence of the technician who normally fed them, rather than simply salivating in the presence of food. Pavlov called the dogs' anticipatory salivation psychic secretion. Putting these informal observations to an experimental test, Pavlov presented a stimulus (e.g. the sound of a metronome) and then gave the dog food; after a few repetitions, the dogs started to salivate in response to the stimulus. Pavlov concluded that if a particular stimulus in the dog's surroundings was present when the dog was given food then that stimulus could become associated with food and cause salivation on its own.

Terminology

In Pavlov's experiments the unconditioned stimulus (US) was the food because its effects did not depend on previous experience. The metronome's sound is originally a neutral stimulus (NS) because it does not elicit salivation in the dogs. After conditioning, the metronome's sound becomes the conditioned stimulus (CS) or conditional stimulus; because its effects depend on its association with food.[10] Likewise, the responses of the dog follow the same conditioned-versus-unconditioned arrangement. The conditioned response (CR) is the response to the conditioned stimulus, whereas the unconditioned response (UR) corresponds to the unconditioned stimulus.

Pavlov reported many basic facts about conditioning; for example, he found that learning occurred most rapidly when the interval between the CS and the appearance of the US was relatively short.[11]

As noted earlier, it is often thought that the conditioned response is a replica of the unconditioned response, but Pavlov noted that saliva produced by the CS differs in composition from that produced by the US. In fact, the CR may be any new response to the previously neutral CS that can be clearly linked to experience with the conditional relationship of CS and US.[6][8] It was also thought that repeated pairings are necessary for conditioning to emerge, but many CRs can be learned with a single trial, especially in fear conditioning and taste aversion learning.

Forward conditioning

Learning is fastest in forward conditioning. During forward conditioning, the onset of the CS precedes the onset of the US in order to signal that the US will follow.[12][13]: 69  Two common forms of forward conditioning are delay and trace conditioning.

Delay conditioning: In delay conditioning, the CS is presented and is overlapped by the presentation of the US. For example, if a person hears a buzzer for five seconds, during which time air is puffed into their eye, the person will blink. After several pairings of the buzzer and the puff, the person will blink at the sound of the buzzer alone. This is delay conditioning.

Trace conditioning: During trace conditioning, the CS and US do not overlap. Instead, the CS begins and ends before the US is presented. The stimulus-free period is called the trace interval or the conditioning interval. If in the above buzzer example, the puff came a second after the sound of the buzzer stopped, that would be trace conditioning, with a trace or conditioning interval of one second.

During simultaneous conditioning, the CS and US are presented and terminated at the same time. For example: If a person hears a bell and has air puffed into their eye at the same time, and repeated pairings like this led to the person blinking when they hear the bell despite the puff of air being absent, this demonstrates that simultaneous

Second-order or higher-order conditioning follow a two-step procedure. First a neutral stimulus (CS1) comes to signal a US through forward conditioning. Then a second neutral stimulus (CS2) is paired with the first (CS1) and comes to yield its own conditioned response.[13]: 66  For example: A bell might be paired with food until the bell elicits salivation. If a light is then paired with the bell, then the light may come to elicit salivation as well. The bell is