Phase 2: Preparation & Stabilization
Phase 2 can look very different for each person. It depends on what your background is. There are a number of capacities you need to be able to reprocess memories safely and effectively.
So again, looking at your foundation and what is needed for you to be successful in the reprocessing phases.
You must have enough core stability to feel safe in letting things change.
You need to have a good relationship with your therapist so that you can let them support you, especially if difficult memories come up.
You need to be able to dual focus. This mean you have to be able to stay in present time while recalling past experiences, so you reprocess a memory, not relive it. It also means you have to be able to do two things at once. Internally watch the old memory while moving your eyes during reprocessing. This takes some practice for many people.
You also need to be able to let whatever happens happen. This means that if you have emotions come and go you allow that to occur. If a physical sensation gets worse, you can just observe and let it change. When other memories come up you just observe them so your innate wisdom can do its job.
There may be other skills or capacities you will need as well. So, you may need to do some or extensive resource development. Everyone is different.
You will need to stay in window of tolerance: be able to bring a memory to mind with enough disturbance for reprocessing to occur, and not get overwhelmed by the memory(ies) so reprocessing can occur. This means you will need a variety of tools for self-regulation if a lot of upset occurs. Since you continue to reprocess in between sessions you may need these tools to support you as reprocessing continues.
You will need to be able to give your clinician enough information both during reprocessing (without going into detail), and what happened between session. This allows them to know where to guide you next.
EMDR is not talk therapy, so you have to give BRIEF feedback so your therapists knows where to guide you next.
The longer you talk you will lose where you left off physically and emotionally, and restarting the eye movements may not work as well.
Your prefrontal cortex can be very good at going into defensive/protective mode and you lose the moment of change.
With EMDR therapy the longer you talk the less you get done.
In Phase 2 I use various tools to prepare someone for reprocessing. The tools I use helps both myself and my client see what internal resources they have and build in anything that is missing. If there has been extensive trauma it may take quite some time to complete Phase 2. I help people build a core sense of self and stability so they will be able to reprocess memories. Many people experience improvement in their circumstances with Phase 2 work before getting to the reprocessing. These same tools are often helpful if someone gets stuck in reprocessing.
Some of the skills and internal resources you will develop in Phase 2 will use slow eye movements to strengthen your experience of the resources. For me, I am looking for clients to have the “felt sense” of the resource, not just an imagination of the resource as it is often a fantasy reality of the resource and is not embodied when allows the resource to show up spontaneously.
For instance, let’s say you would like to be able to feel more confident when disagreeing with someone. If you have the “felt sense” of feeling confident when you engage with somone who may disagree with you, you may find yourself spontaneously not taking in their upset or discomfort because you are feeling more confident in speaking up. Sometimes you may not notice a change, but others may comment or compliment you in handling things differently that you were not even aware of. There really is not force of effort once a resource is embodied. (That is my body-centered psychotherapy training talking.)
Slow eye movements will strengthen and enhance experience. We only use it with positive or neutral resources. We do not want to link into anything negative in this phase, so we go slow.
This gives you the opportunity to become familiar with eye movements and learn how to dual focus. Dual focus is literally doing two things at once. Moving eyes while paying attention to what you are experiencing internally. Notice the attention is on your internal experience not what the eyes are seeing or looking at. The other part of dual focus is to be able to look at and notice your internal experience while staying in present time. This is not about going back in time and reliving a memory. That is what talk therapy does, and it is often retraumatizing. Looking at the memory from present time is what disrupts how it is stored.
Once you have completed Phase 2, you return to Phase 1 for treatment planning.
You will choose a Presenting Issue to address and Create a Reprocessing Plan for that Presenting Issue.
One of the things to know about the phases is that you will be revisiting them. They do not go in order 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and you are done.