Seasons of Change Blog

EMDR: Treatment for Trauma

In the last couple of days I've had several occasions to speak with people who have experienced a trauma---either recently or in the past. I wanted to share a little information about a treatment option that's recommended for people who are still feeling the effects of a past trauma.

Over the years I have recommended EMDR to a number of clients and each of them have gone on to live very full lives that are no longer impacted by the original trauma.

Some quick facts:

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.

The American Psychiatric Association and the Department of Veteran Affairs both recommend EMDR as a viable treatment for traumas--

• big T Traumas resulting from violence, accidents, abuse, natural disaster
• little t traumas from childhood teasing, breakups, comments from parents

When Parents Are Deployed

I was delighted to see that Sesame Street has created a show, When Parents Are Deployed, to help over half a million young children under five years old who are facing the deployment of a parent. 

In the show Elmo and and his father, who is in the Navy, come up with special ways to stay connected even when they are on opposite sides of the earth. Here are a few tips I gleaned from the news story I saw this evening.

• Saying goodnight to the moon each night...knowing the other person can also see the moon.
• Saying goodnight to a picture of the two of them together.
• Bringing the parent into the daily ritual several times a day.

Nurturing Insights vs Jumping into Action Too Soon

One of my Seasons of Change Professionals asked me how she could tell when a client was having a Winter Solstice breakthrough and when he was prematurely jumping at an idea.

(First, let me explain the Winter Solstice phrase she used. Within my model, The Seasons of Change, a person in transition reaches a point where they are able to gain new insights about themselves and their situation. Usually this insight happens during the dark night of the soul, (or Winter), when they've surrendered to the fact that they really don't have or don't know the answer to their situation. (If you'd like more information about The Seasons of Change, visit my site or read the book.))

Now back to her question. This is actually a great distinction to make--especially if you support clients in transition.

A client's Winter Solstice insights usually manifest as new ways to see themselves or their situation, new ideas, or new perspectives of a past event. The idea itself, whatever it is, begins to shine some light on their past.

Notice that all of these are ideas...not actions. If someone takes action on a Winter Solstice insight as soon as they grasp it...that's premature jumping. By moving into action so soon after having a new insight, your client runs the risk of acting before the full picture is clear.

The most well thought out actions come as a result of collecting a number of new ideas and weaving them together.  When someone jumps into action after just one insight they are missing a great opportunity. Typically a series of insights is much more powerful and long standing than a single insight. One way to think about this is to use a metaphor. Each idea is a seed...The more seeds that sprout, the more likely it is that the client can select  the sturdiest, strongest plant to nourish/act upon.

Encourage your client to stay in the insight mode for a while before they leap into action. Sometimes the second and third insight...and even the tenth...bring new wisdom and perspective that help steer the client in a solid direction.

If you'd like to feel comfortable applying The Seasons of Change model in your work with clients in Transition, learn more about becoming a Seasons of Change Professional. The next training group starts September 26, 2005.