Trauma therapies: EMDR, Imaginal Rescripting and Imaginal Exposure

[Oxajil]

Good day to all. Question by my side. Is there any specific technique to unlock memories hidden or blocked by amnesia generated by trauma? I just met a person who told me that nor 'normal' therapy nor meditation worked out for her since she simply cannot access most childhood memories. Everything seems to be blocked by huge trauma that she cannot grasp nor access.

Hi Basque Seeker, perhaps she can try writing:

(Seppo Ilmarinen) My question is about why do I have so many blank spots in my childhood? Childhood memories?

A: Abuse can tend to aid dissociation. Writing may help.

Q: (Breton) I guess we're familiar with the writing exercises.

(Seppo Ilmarinen) Yeah, I've been doing those.

A: Not just "the writing exercises!" We mean writing down your life, and do it with the hand, not the keyboard. You will be surprised at how much returns to memory, especially if you allow a bit of automaticity. Also, SRT is recommended.

 

[iamthatis]

Good day to all. Question by my side. Is there any specific technique to unlock memories hidden or blocked by amnesia generated by trauma? I just met a person who told me that nor 'normal' therapy nor meditation worked out for her since she simply cannot access most childhood memories. Everything seems to be blocked by huge trauma that she cannot grasp nor access.

Trauma that's not accessible to cognition is in the deep subconscious, stored in the body. Doing somatic therapy of a particular kind and in the correct sequence has been shown to help clear these blockages.

Some traumatic events happen to us before our brains were capable of forming memories, and sometimes even before our emotional centre was developed, or before we were able to speak. It all depends what happened, and when. There might also be ancestral trauma, or past-life trauma at play as well. So we might not actually have memories of or cognitive access to what happened, but (thank God) that's not necessary for healing.

That's because memories are in the body. Trauma is fundamentally an inability to be in the present moment. By working on connecting mind, body, and environment simultaneously, we can create space in the present for difficult body memories to express, and learn to be in the present and in the body in a new way.

I've been doing Irene Lyon's online course Smart Body Smart Mind, and it has been incredibly helpful in accessing trauma and releasing it. Perhaps your friend could have a look at her YouTube videos (example) and the other free resource on her website. She uses the metaphor of building a house. One doesn't start building without education, and that's the place to start, growing in Knowledge of the nervous system.

 

[Gwenllian]

I've been doing Irene Lyon's online course Smart Body Smart Mind, and it has been incredibly helpful in accessing trauma and releasing it. Perhaps your friend could have a look at her YouTube videos (example) and the other free resource on her website. She uses the metaphor of building a house. One doesn't start building without education, and that's the place to start, growing in Knowledge of the nervous system.

I had a look at her course and it looks super interesting. Her next one starts in February 2026 and I am going to put my name on her wait list, which will give me some time to contemplate as it's not cheap.

I started reading Deb Dana's 'Polyvagal Practices: Anchoring the Self in Safety' which was published in 2023 which may also be a goodie if we wish to obtain more knowledge of our nervous system.

Added: Sorry, registration starts in February next.

 

[Jones]

I had a look at her course and it looks super interesting. Her next one starts in February 2026 and I am going to put my name on her wait list, which will give me some time to contemplate as it's not cheap.

If you do her 21 Day Nervous System Tune Up, you get the cost of that deducted from the Smart Body Smart Mind course. The benefit being that it's something that you can start working with right now and apparently gives a head start for doing SBSM later.

 

[Oxajil]

I thought I'd share an interesting example of combining EMDR with a bit of imaginal rescripting. Ideally, the person undergoing EMDR will spontaneously experience certain thoughts, insights, emotions, or sensations, but in some cases, people report that nothing comes up. In such situations, I've found it helpful to add what’s called a cognitive interweave, a question you ask the person about the event before they do a task (such as following a fast‑moving ball on the screen with their eyes). In a way, you're giving a gentle prompt to think a bit more deeply about the event when nothing comes up spontaneously.

Here’s an example from a client of mine with PTSD (some details have been changed to ensure anonymity):
The image we worked with was of him lying in a hospital bed. He was and felt completely alone. I asked him: "Let’s say you step into that image, what would you give your past self?" He became a bit emotional and said: "I would tell myself I’m not alone and I would put my hand on my shoulder for comfort." I said, "Focus on that, see that happening," while he would follow the fast-moving ball on the screen.

After the session, when we checked how much disturbance was left from the image, he noted that when he thought of the image again, he now saw another person with him, that he wasn’t alone. He of course still remembered what the real situation had been, but the sense of loneliness was much less intense. Pretty interesting!

Here's a similar example from a paper:

Cognitive interweaves, which are short, open-ended questions aimed at providing functional and supportive information during a session, proved to be helpful for Amy to gain a different perspective and take better care of herself. For example, when asked, “What would you like to do for that little girl now?” Amy would respond, “I would give her a hug and tell her that she matters.” The SUD scores [current level of emotional distress or disturbance] decreased rapidly and the sessions consistently ended in a positive manner. Amy increasingly felt a sense of self-worth, and began to feel stronger.