The process of Integral Eye Movement Therapy allows us to understand the answer to the question ‘how did you learn to feel the way that we do’?

Integral Eye Movement Therapy a rapid change work therapeutic method using eye movements which allows us to shift painful memories and the emotions associated with it.

A common reply to the question ‘how does it feel now’ after using this process is that ‘it doesn’t seem to matter as much anymore… I can let it go’.

Who can benefit from Integral Eye Movement Therapy?

It is a powerful and effective process for most people experiencing:

• Overwhelming, or intense emotions

• Reoccurring difficult memories

• Being trigger and unhelpful behaviours

• Process unhelpful, challenging emotional states

• Phobias

• Negative relational experiences

• Traumatic events or experiences

Working with what is out-with our awareness

When we talk through an experience or how we are feeling we are using our conscious mind, what is already within our awareness.
However what drives our thoughts, feelings and beliefs is in our unconscious, and so not so easily accessed on our own.

Our unconscious stores our life experiences, both positive and negative and draws on these memories to understand and predict what is happening in the here and now.

It allows us to go about our day-to-day lives without having to relearn all we have learnt from previous days every day. We can get out of bed in the morning and not need to relearn how to walk. We remember where our bathroom is, what our toothbrush is for and how to drive a car.

It is easy to see how this is helpful when we are wanting to repeat practical tasks and how we go about normal our lives. The challenges come when an event or experience leaves us with a negative association. And this continues to trigger us or block us from how we want to feel or be.

Emotions, reactions and Integral Eye Movement Therapy

As we evolved, it was helpful to not think about how to respond to a dangerous situation and instead just react. The well used analogy of hearing a rustle in the bushes is a good one to use here. Our brain, which is wired to predict the worst, assumes it is a threat. As a sabre tooth tiger jumps out of the bushes to attack us, our conscious mind is bypassed and our unconscious kicks in to trigger a flee response. If we had engaged our conscious minds instead, spending time analysing what was happening, or thinking about what a beautiful, fluffy coat the tiger had, we waste precious time to protect ourselves. By reacting automatically, we are more likely to live to see another day. The genes of the ancestors who were cautious and reactive survived to be past down the generations.

These distressing events are stored with a strong visceral sensation and emotion attached to them. It is this sensation and emotion that is the first signal to our brains that something in our environment is either a threat or something pleasurable.

When we are experiencing an emotion intensely it is likely linked to a past event. By exploring this association and how we experience it in our bodies, we can use IEMT to repattern and ‘turn down’ what once was an overwhelming feeling.

But nothing bad happened…

We don’t always have a defined memory of something that is creating the challenge or block in our present day. The nature of overwhelming, distressing or traumatic experiences in early life can mean we may have no conscious memory of an event or experience that is impacting us in the here and now.

This is because we don’t have just one type of memory. The memories of experiences that drive our automatic, unconscious feelings and thoughts are stored as an implicit memory. One that has no narrative or visual, and occurs automatically without us consciously choosing it.

Often what is blocking us today, such as a belief about our self not being good enough which stops us putting ourselves out there, or feeling anxious and ruminating about how to fix our worry, are actually coping mechanisms that we picked up at a time to help us stay ‘safe’. They were adaptive at the time, a best guess on how to feel better. This pattern has continued to playout despite our circumstances now being different.

Using a combination of different techniques, Integral Eye Movement Therapy being one of them, I work with you to explore more deeply how you are experiencing your challenge. We can then decide how you would like it to be different and update that pattern. Much like updating an app when it has been slowing down the whole system. You will be able to create a more helpful way of thinking, feeling and being.

If any memories come through during this process, we can use Integral Eye Movement Therapy to repattern these emotions and memories.

Do I need to talk it through in detail?

When we have experienced a distressing or traumatic experience the last thing we can want to do is go through it in detail.

For us to access it, we have to bring it up into our awareness, to recall details. In effect it can feel like we are reliving it what happened. Having to talk about it will intensify that feeling, often also bringing in strong emotions. Not only can this rewire into our present that this experience is still a ‘live’ and present threat, we also run the risk of being retraumatised.

So instead we work with little, or no content. As long as you are able to hold the memory or body sensation in your minds eye, we can work on it together.

Integral Eye Movement Therapy offers a more rapid way to change those unwanted and challenging traits left behind by past adversity. It has been reported by many clients that IEMT has created change for them where no other approaches has helped.

If you would like to find out more about IEMT, I offer a free call to have a chat and answer any questions you have.