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EMDR 8 Stage Protocol:

1. History Taking 4. Reprocessing 7. Closure

2. Preparation 5. Installation 8. Re-evaluation
3. Assessment 6. Body Scan

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1. History Taking. Together we will discuss your current challenges and symptoms,
when they are most noticeable and problematic, what life was like for you as a child as
well as currently, and what your hopes and goals are for your future.

2. Preparation
(Education---Resource Installation---Trauma Targeting)

---Education:

We will discuss EMDR and make sure that I have adequately responded to your
questions. I encourage you to learn about EMDR so that you can make an informed
choice about this treatment option and consider ways to maximize its use for your healing
and well-being.

---Resource Installation (see pp. 10-11)

I will guide you to visualize positive places, people, memories, past successes and inner
strengths while using bilateral stimulation (eye movements/gentle buzzers you hold in
your hands/auditory tones). These exercises will enhance your ability to comfort yourself
when distressed, elevate your mood, increase your control of your emotional responses,
and to bring your body/mind/spirit into a more relaxed state.

---Trauma Targeting (see page 12):

Together we will create a list of EMDR “targets”. These are the things that cause you
upset in your present life including: traumatic memories, negative thoughts, fear/anxiety
symptoms and other distressing feelings, uncomfortable or painful body sensations,
disturbing dreams, and past as well as current difficult life experiences.

EMDR for performance enhancement, the “target” can be:

 Past experiences where you did not perform as you’d hoped to

 Life experiences that lessened your confidence
 Past negative messages
 Current symptoms and feelings that prevent you from focusing
 Any other barriers that keep your from working/performing/living up to your
potential.
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3. ASSESSMENT

At this phase we will choose the “target” you would like to work on/get relief from. I
will ask you about what the worst part of that target memory is, what thoughts and
feelings go with it, what it makes you believe about yourself now, and then have you rate
the distress it causes on a scale from 0-10. I will also ask you what you would like to
believe about yourself instead and have you rate how true that currently feels on a scale
from 1-7. This will help us measure where we are in the process and make certain your
goals are achieved.

4. REPROCESSING/DESENSITIZATION

I will ask you to bring up the target you have chosen, along with the disturbing image that
represents it, the negative belief you have about yourself as a result of it, and the
distressing feelings it still evokes for you. This activates the neural networks in your
brain where the trauma is stored so that it can be “unlocked” and processed. I will then
add the bilateral stimulation (eye movements, gentle buzzing in your hands, auditory
tones).

After reprocessing, the goal is that you will be able to recall the upsetting memory with a
distress rating of 0 and your positive belief at a rating of 7. This does NOT mean that the
distress you felt at the time of the event changed; that cannot ever be changed. It means
that your body and mind have transformed it into a memory that happened in the past
and it no longer feels like an experience happening now. Desensitization then continues
by targeting current triggers (things in the present that are upsetting) as well as
anticipated future triggers and rehearsing handling them effectively.

WHAT DOES EMDR REPROCESSING/DESENSITIZATION FEEL LIKE?

People have different experiences of EMDR. Some say it is like rapid daydreaming;
some describe it as watching scenery go by from the window of a train; others liken it to
watching a DVD or snapshots in a slide show; some compare it to prayer, active
daydreaming, or meditation. Most people have commented that it is like going into a
painful memory and bringing along the sensation of comfort, like being rocked and
soothed when distressed. Sometimes people cry releasing strong emotions and
sometimes people experience physical sensations as their body releases its sensory
experiences. You always remain in control and able to stop, ask questions, or obtain my
help in figuring out and getting what you need.

Unlike exposure therapy, the experience of EMDR is NOT a moment-by-moment re-

living of a painful life event; instead the traumatic memory links up with positive, useful
information and resources that are also stored in your brain. EMDR creates “dual
awareness” which means that instead of getting fully pulled into a memory, the gentle
buzzing in your hands, eye movements, and auditory tones anchor the mind and body to
stay oriented to the present time and place while simultaneously remembering the
distressing experience. As with all trauma work, EMDR can be emotionally intense. At
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all times I will be there to help you know you are safe in my office and to gently coach
you through any difficult parts of the process.

EMDR does not make people forget their painful experiences or stop being sad
sometimes about them; however the memories will become just that: memories. They
will become less upsetting because they will be filed in the brain as something that
happened in the past instead of being relived over and over in the present; you will be
able to recall them but without the painful emotional charge.

Because the part of the brain that communicates in images works faster than the part of
the brain that communicates in words I will encourage you to talk less than traditional
therapy. After each set of bilateral stimulation I will ask you what you are noticing and
then tell you to “go with that”. If at any time you feel overwhelmed or “stuck” please let
me know; there are many things I can do to help.

EMDR works by enhancing your body’s own natural healing processes. It is your brain’s
neural networks and channels of associations that control the EMDR desensitization
process. The bilateral stimulation simply helps you move your own eyes and awareness
back and forth across the midline of your body so that the hemispheres of your brain talk
to each other more efficiently. YOU CANNOT DO EMDR WRONG; everyone’s process
is wonderfully unique.

5. INSTALLATION

When the target memory has been desensitized (the distress level is 0-1 on a scale of 0-10
and the positive belief is 7 on a scale of 1-7) we will link the positive belief to the target
memory using the bilateral stimulation.

6. BODY SCAN

I will ask you to hold the target in your mind along with the positive belief and to
mentally scan your body from head to toe. If you notice any tension or tightness or
discomfort we will add additional bilateral stimulation until the discomfort is gone.
When you notice positive sensations we will add bilateral stimulation to strengthen and
enhance them.

7. CLOSURE

After every session it is my job to make sure you leave feeling safe, stable, and grounded.
If we are in the middle of reprocessing a negative memory but the session time is about to
end I will lead you in a relaxation exercise and help connect you to your positive
resources.
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8. REEVALUATION

The next time we meet we will discuss what you have experienced since your last
session. I will ask you to bring up the original target and make sure the positive changes
have remained. Once the target has been fully processed we will use bilateral
stimulation for future performance improvement and strengths enhancement.

AFTER AN EMDR SESSION

EMDR facilitates deep and lasting changes. During an EMDR session your mind will
move quickly from one memory/scene to the next to the next; this process will continue
between sessions as your mind-body-spirit continue to move toward healing.

It is NORMAL for people to discover new information, make unexpected connections,

and to experience strong positive as well as strong negative emotions between sessions.
It is also normal for the changes to be more subtle and gradual.

Usually unexpected positive resources also spontaneously come to mind or in dreams. I

encourage you to spend time between sessions practicing and strengthening the neural
connections of the positive resources you have developed. Most people find this a very
pleasurable, empowering, and comforting part of EMDR.

It can be helpful to write down what happens for you between sessions. I recommend
either stapling a copy of the next page (page 9) on the inside front of an inexpensive
notebook or you can print out several copies to use.

For those who have studied psychology: If you omit the bilateral stimulation the 8-stage
EMDR protocol is quite similar to the structure of other well-established therapeutic
modalities including:

 Cognitive Behavioral  Jungian

 DBT  Mind-Body/Holistic
 Developmental (Attachment  Mindfulness
Theory)  Neuropsychology
 Eriksonian  Positive Psychology (Solution-
 Existential focused)
 Gestalt  Psychodynamic (Self
 Humanistic/Client- Psychology, Object Relations,
centered/Rogerian Imago)