EMDR, IFS, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy

Continuing advances and revelations of neuroscience are supporting the art and science of psychotherapy in more effective and efficient resolution of complex human conditions.  This is perhaps most evident in the treatment of Trauma and Stress Related Disorders.  Trauma is now being more clearly recognized as a condition which can manifest in a wide range of symptoms.  The spectrum can include many features of Borderline Personality Disorder such as, Mood Instability, Self-destructive Behavior, Substance Abuse, Eating Disorders, Impulsive Behavior, Irritability, Depression, and Anxiety (Harvey, 1990, Fisher, 2007).  If you are feeling stuck with symptoms which are resistant to change, there may likely be underlying Trauma. 

Trauma is understood as a result of experience which has overwhelmed our capacity for Integration.  Trauma resolution requires a gradual compassionate Phase Oriented Treatment approach with an emphasis on establishing safety and empowerment.  Persistent symptoms can be productively approached by considering how they originated, and perhaps helped us cope or survive.  In this spirit they can be more compassionately related to and understood, ushering greater perspective for resolving burdens they carry within exaggerated Roles and Relationship patterns.  As more adaptive coping options are accessed and strengthened our symptoms can begin to relax and stabilize, opening a path for underlying trauma to resolve.  Mindfulness meditation skills are central in this process as a foundation to support trauma therapy.  The body holds keys to traumatic experience at an implicit level, and can become a reliable source of healing as we pay greater attention to the wisdom it provides.  Leaders in the field such as Bessel van der Kolk endorse Somatic approaches such as Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and EMDR as essential tools for effective  trauma treatment.

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), IFS (Internal Family Systems Therapy, and DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) are truly modern Cognitive Behavioral Therapy approaches which incorporate Mindfulness based principles such as compassionate attention and valuing of personal present experience.   Daniel Siegel among other leaders in neuroscience research point to the importance of Integration as an intrinsic benefit of Mindfulness practice.  The common thread of Mindfulness appears significant in explaining why Evidence Based Research has shown EMDR and DBT to be effective treatment strategies for resolving Trauma related disorders, and symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder.  DBT has been recognized as effective in resolving difficult symptoms in various settings.  EMDR has similarly continued to expand it's scope with clinical applications in the resolution of protracted Grief, Depression, Anxiety, and Behavioral Addictions.  I am repeatedly gratified to see EMDR and DBT facilitate a more efficient and effective process in both Individual and Couples Therapy. 

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and EMDR focus on multiple experiential modalities including visual imagery, thoughts, emotions, and body sensations.  They are supported by decades of research about how the human brain stores and resolves traumatic experiences, and fit well with established clinical practices for safe Phase-Oriented Trauma Treatment.  This entails beginning with stabilization and resource development as a foundation for processing targets of disturbance.  I consistently find this initial work of resource development to be a surprisingly rewarding and powerful source of healing in and of itself. 

There are several theories about exactly how and why EMDR works.  Perhaps the most simple premise is that alternating bilateral stimulation (eye movements or tapping moving from right to left sides of the body, and corresponding brain hemispheres) strengthens what’s true, and resolves what’s distorted, or false.  It is thought that traumatic memory is stored in an isolated fashion within the neuro-networks of the brain.  This prevents it from being accessed and modified by the whole range of experiences which the person truly has to draw upon and formulate life perspectives about.  I often think it's like resolving a skip on a record or CD so the music can play through and be enjoyed again.  EMDR facilitates access to the person’s true current capacity for adaptive perspectives, healthy reconciliation, and resumption of age-appropriate growth and development. 

Find out more about EMDR, DBT, and Trauma Therapy on the following links:

I.F.S. has much in common with other Mindfulness Based psychological approaches and spiritual traditions which emphasize establishing a compassionate relationship with Self.  Richard Schwartz refers to "Self" or "Self-energy" as a central healing energy characterized by qualities such as Curiosity, Calmness, Clarity, Courage, Confidence, Creativity, Compassion, and Connectedness.  When we make room for our "Self" it opens and strengthens a healing presence which can reach vulnerable injured aspects of our internal system in a safe respectful manner.  As we come to be with the various layers and aspects of our internal system it builds trust, compassionate curiosity, and helpful perspective towards extreme exaggerated protective patterns.  The burdens we carry in the form of limiting beliefs and painful emotions persisting as legacies of traumatic experience can begin to resolve.  Our sense of Self can shift in profound ways as we differentiate from the burdens our parts have taken on and mistakenly identified with as intrinsic to "us".  

D.W. Winnicott (1965) coined the term "False Self" as an Object Relations phenomenon resulting from the child's adaptation to excessive ruptures in the Primary Maternal Preoccupation we depend on.  The need for consistent attunement with our primary caregivers is so essential that the ego resorts to extreme measures of accommodating by becoming what is imagined as necessary to maintain a connection.  He becomes what the parent seems to need him to be rather than joyfully welcoming and "mirroring" his authentic being.  This sort of early chronic relationship trauma is now being referred to as "Complex Trauma".  

Much of what afflicts us as human beings can be understood as various kinds of "mistaken identity" about who we are and loss of connection with our true Self.  The problem of being taken over by  emotionality, extreme limiting beliefs, and distorted perspectives is what Schwartz refers to as the phenomenon of "Blending".  When we identify with our own compelling emotional drama it's like an actor who gets lost in their parts.  "Un-blending" of our parts from our Self can occur as we open up curiosity and take a genuine interest in getting to know how and why our parts have become personally invested and identified with various aspects of our experience.  When Schwartz begins to work with clients he will invite them to find the part they are interested in working with in or around their body, and focus on it.  This is essentially a mindfulness practice of coming back to the present moment in the body which helps our parts to un-blend from our Self.  This practice opens up a dyadic relational presence which provides compassionate connection and builds trust in our Self.  As our parts realize their power to un-blend, differentiate, and find their true place and connection with us, the healing presence of Self energy allows previously overwhelming aspects of our experience to be appropriately tended to and begin to transform.  Relationship with Self becomes a way of welcoming and holding our most tender aspects in the spirit of unconditional loving kindness.  "Turning it over" to a higher power in the 12-step tradition can be understood as an "un-blending" step.  

Carl Jung referred to the higher Self as the "Self with a capital "S".  He developed a therapeutic method called "Active Imagining" which involves opening relationship and dialogue with various aspects of our internal world expressed in dream images, art work, and sand tray play.  Donald Kalsched (The Inner World of Trauma, 1996) is a modern Jungian therapist who has noted that Richard Schwartz (Internal Family Systems Therapy, 1995) developed an effective way of accessing and healing traumatized aspects of the personality.  The therapeutic attitude of welcoming all parts of our experience is a central feature in I.F.S., Mindfulness practice, and the active imagining of Carl Jung.  Though it may seem counter-intuitive to be with, and relate to what seems to be the "source" of our fear, pain, and suffering, clinical expertise in Pain Management and Cognitive Behavioral treatment for Anxiety Disorders continues to support this strategy (Stephen Levine, A Gradual Awakening, 1979, Who Dies, 1982, David Burns, When Panic Attacks, 2006, Peter Levine, Freedom from Pain, 2012).  

I rely on Mindfulness Based practices with Individual Therapy, Couples Counseling, and Family Therapy, as this allows a healing spirit of compassion and kindness to support the “mechanics” of what we know contributes to the cultivation of satisfying relationships.  I am certainly one of many grateful contemporary Marriage & Family Therapists who utilize the powerful tools made available in the wake of brilliant clinical experience and research over the last several decades.  David Burns (1991) has given us “The Five Secrets of Effective Communication”.  Susan Heitler (1990) developed a wonderfully valuing, inclusive “win – win” model for working with highly conflicted Couples.  Harville Hendrix (1992) provides a list of concise exercises for Getting The Love You Want beginning with the practice of "mirroring" to heal our childhood wounds.  And John Gottman (1999) published the fruits of his twenty year relationship studies in The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work.