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