Letting Steam Out of the Pressure Cooker: The EMDR Life Stress Protocol

Abstract

The standard protocol of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy has been well established as an efficacious brief treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), addressing past, present, and future aspects of a traumatizing event. This article provides instruction in the administration of the EMDR Life Stress Protocol, which targets a significant recent experience or a life scenario that is not necessarily remarkable as a stand-alone event (getting up every morning with dread, feeling anxious about leaving the house) and which causes distress and impaired function such as has been commonly reported during the COVID-19 crisis. This protocol involves minor but significant modifications within EMDR therapy’s standard procedures. It uses the present-day experience as the Target Memory while accessing briefly, the memory network of historical experiences that inform the client’s reactions to their present circumstances. Successful processing is immediately followed by a Future Template to generate an alternative pattern of response, optimizing the client’s capacity to respond adaptively to continued life demands. The EMDR Life Stress Protocol differs from EMDR’s various recent events protocols, which seek to reduce posttraumatic symptoms following a recent traumatic event or crisis. Those protocols focus on the critical incident and ancillary events, and typically do not intend to activate memory networks of related historical experiences. The article describes case conceptualization to offer a rationale for this approach and provides a detailed description of this protocol, illustrated with case examples, highlighting its application both as a psychotherapy approach and as a brief intervention.

Trauma‐focused treatment of a client with Complex PTSD and comorbid pathology using EMDR therapy

“…In addition, many situations require experience and specific expertise, such as working with comorbid addiction, drug dependence, intellectual disabilities, psychosis, or treating refugees, where language and cultural differences play a role. To this end, it is also important to note that EMDR therapy is not only aimed at remission of symptoms, but also focuses on addressing problems in the patient's attachment and repairing the concomitant injuries inflicted, so that there can be personal growth, which is “often described as healing as well as transformative, not just because of the memory reprocessing but also because of the relationship between the therapist and client, and the shared experience or going through it together” (Laliotis et al, 2021).…”

Randomized Controlled Trial: Self-Care Traumatic Episode Protocol, Computerized EMDR Treatment of COVID-19-Related Stress

“…The social distancing requirements and frequent lockdowns associated with COVID-19 have presented Pdf_Folio:101 many challenges for psychotherapists, who have had to change treatment delivery from in-person to virtual settings. Guidelines were developed by the EMDR International Association (Rollins et al, 2020), and articles have been written proposing ways to provide standard EMDR procedures while accommodating these changes (e.g., Fisher, 2021;Laliotis, 2020;Solomon, 2020). Some new EMDR protocols, including stabilization techniques, early intervention, and self-care, were developed for COVID-19 related distress (Luber, 2020).…”

Some observations on remote delivery of eye‐movement desensitisation and reprocessing to people with intellectual disabilities

“…TF‐CBT is a highly verbal intervention that aims to identify and modify over‐interpretations of the actual level of threat, and to modify beliefs and perceptions regarding the traumatic event. By contrast, EMDR is less reliant on verbal expression: the patient focusses on memories of past traumatic events while making controlled eye movements (or an alternative form of bilateral stimulation (Laliotis et al, 2021)) that engage attention and enable the therapist to manage the intensity of the patient's distress (Shapiro, 1999).…”