Episode 31: Q&A Part 2
Listen in as we begin answering some questions that we have been sent by our Patreon members. In this episode we answer questions regarding EMDR Therapy as a top down vs bottom up approach. Is EMDR Therapy really a belief driven approach?
Q: I would appreciate hearing more about cognitive interweaves, common stuck places interventions, more in ego state work from an EMDR perspective.
A:
-Future series on Ego State to come!
-Ego state work happens on a spectrum
-Ego state is a kind of perspective shifting interweave
-Ego state can move toward developing relationships within the self
-The parts of the self that are characteristic of a behavior or symptom can also be the focus of Ego state work
-Ego state work is so creative
-Ego state work can be naturally integrated in all of the work that you do with EMDR, not just a single exercise
-Cognitive Interweaves can come from your therapeutic instincts, not just from a worksheet you received in training.
-Gently questioning can be a great format for a cognitive interweave
-Anything that is outside of the standard protocol is technically a cognitive interweave
-A cognitive interweave list vs the therapist as the instrument
-Look for what the missing piece is and offer a small piece to help shift the processing
Q: My main modality before learning EMDR has been emotionally focused therapy for couples and individuals which is more from a bottom up perspective. There are many places these modalities go together but I’m finding EMDR is more from a belief focused perspective and EFT is more from emotion up and running. Anything that helps merge these modalities would be so helpful.
A:
-EMDR does not have to be a top down approach. It does not have to be a belief focused approach
-EMDR can be the most valuable when it is utilized as a bottom up approach
-Why do some clinicians look at EMDR as a top down approach?
- We are looking to integrate a new concept into something that we already know
- The protocol highlights the positive and negative cognition as well as a tool to measure them
-Why do we believe that EMDR is actually a bottom up approach?
-How do you do EMDR as a bottom up approach?
-Utilize EFT as a tool for preparing and researching a client for EMDR Therapy
-Utilize bilateral to enhance the gains that they have with EFT
-EMDR with couples can be incredible, EFT can be another lens to view EMDR therapy
Melissa Gates
I just listened to this episode and have to say I’m SO confused…because in my training we learned that you plan targets around one specific negative cognition….but now I’m guessing that not everyone does that? I feel like I need to take a different training!!?
jtalbot
Hi! Yes that was a common method that was taught for a long time. There are still some trainers that teach it that way but most have shifted to a more wholistic approach that doesn’t focus as much on the cognition. The shift has been in response to the research showing that CBT is not effective for the treatment of developmental trauma and that more somatically focused therapies get better results.