Show Notes
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This episode was recorded using an AI voice replicator. Future episodes will only be recorded by members of the Scaling Up team unless otherwise noted.
Transcript
Welcome. Welcome to the Scaling Up Your Impact podcast. I’m Kelly, the founder of Scaling Up, and in this episode, you will learn three specific ways to adapt the EMDR protocol. Now, the content in this episode was created by the Scaling Up team, and it’s delivered through our AI generated voices, bringing you diversity in the delivery of our content while also maintaining the expertise and insights, our community values. We hope you enjoy this episode. See you in there.
Welcome to the Deep Dive. Today we’re, uh, looking into EMDR. That’s eye movement, desensitization and reprocessing. Mm-hmm. It’s a really well-regarded therapy for trauma, but you know, the standard way, the protocol, well, life doesn’t always fit into neat boxes, does it? That’s exactly right. Oh, the standard eight phase EMDR protocol, it’s, uh, it’s definitely robust.
It gives us a solid framework. Trauma, it hits everyone differently, affects the nervous system, how memories get processed. It’s diverse. So a rigid approach might miss things. It absolutely could miss those crucial individual variations. The real world messiness, you know, think of like. A chef. Okay. They have their core technique short, but a great chef adapts based on the ingredients they have, what the diner needs specifically.
Right. Okay. So let’s unpack that. Why is adapting EMDR so important? It’s not just changing things for the sake of it, is it? Oh, not at all. Yeah, definitely not. Life and trauma, especially, they don’t happen in a neat little therapy room or follow a manual perfectly. Mm-hmm. Think about someone who’s just gone through something traumatic like.
Days ago, if you wait for the standard processing timelines, you might actually get in the way of their own natural coping. Ah, or picture a whole community reeling from something awful, a collective trauma. How do you even begin to offer support efficiently on that scale? Yeah, that’s a huge challenge. And then you have individuals who, for whatever reason, travel.
Time off work. They need treatment packed into a shorter timeframe, a concentrated dose, if you will. So these situations just demand a different approach. Exactly. They necessitate thoughtful adjustments. It’s about making EMDR work better in the real world. Okay, so adaptation is about boosting accessibility, boosting impact precisely.
While still holding onto what makes EMDR work in the first place. That’s the core idea. Yeah. Good adaptation. Isn’t watering down EMDR? Not at all. It’s about amplifying its power, its reach, it’s about meeting people right where they are, understanding the complexity of their actual lived experience. More resonance.
That makes a lot of sense. Tailoring it like that. So let’s get into some of these key adaptations. First one you learned EMDR, pres C, did I get that right? You did. And it’s pronounced press C like the C, S, EA, press C. Got it. It stands for EMDR protocol. For recent events and critical incidents, recent events, okay.
Yeah. The really crucial idea here is that window of opportunity right after a trauma happens by stepping in early with EMDR Presi, the thinking is we can potentially disrupt how those traumatic memories get locked in, consolidated in the amygdala. Ah, so. Stop them from getting deeply rooted sort of, yeah.
Or at least lessen the grip. So this isn’t typically for trauma from years ago, but for the very recent stuff, the acute experiences. Okay. And it’s also really helpful for people dealing with ongoing stress from a recent event, not just a, a single isolated incident. Right. If the situation is still unfolding or has immediate knock on effects.
Exactly. It helps people keep moving forward. Maintain some momentum and importantly it helps build resilience against future distress related to that event. So if you, the listener, are maybe dealing with something very recent, this Presee approach could be something to look into Definitely worth knowing about.
It feels very proactive. Yeah. Like catching it early. I. What’s another major way EMDR is being adapted? Well, the next big one is the EMDR integrative group treatment protocol. Uh, often shortened to E-M-D-R-I-G-T-P or sometimes just called group EMDR, group EMDR. Okay. And this is really designed for situations where trauma hits a whole community, like after a natural disaster or god forbid, like a school shooting or something.
Exactly. Those kinds of situations, events that impact many people all at once. In one place. Wow. But EMDR often feels like such an individual therapy, you know, one-on-one. How do you make that work for a whole group? That’s what’s so innovative about it. E-M-D-R-I-G-T-P provides a really structured, safe way to bring EMDR principles to lots of people simultaneously.
It uses predictable elements, things people can learn quickly. Like the butterfly hug. Ah yes. The self hugging tapping thing, that’s the one. It’s a bilateral stimulation technique. People can do themselves easily. That combined with drawing other expressive methods within the group format, so it’s structured, but also allows for that individual processing within the group.
Precisely and beyond just being efficient scale-wise, it taps into something really powerful. Co-regulation within the group. Co-regulation. Yeah. Seeing others work through their distress. It can activate mirror neurons. Yeah. Foster this sense of shared safety, shared resilience. It can actually speed up individual healing because it’s happening in that collective context.
Huh. And it’s worth noting this IGTP is the most researched group, EMDR protocol out there worldwide. That butterfly hug. I can see how that could feel grounding, maybe even empowering, especially if everyone’s doing it together. Mm-hmm. You mentioned you saw this used after a flood. What was that experience like?
Oh, it was quite something. Yeah, really powerful. You saw this collective resilience just emerge. People were processing their own shock and fear. They were also witnessing others doing the same thing. It created this profound sense of, okay, I’m not alone in this shared humanity. Wow. The support within the group just bouncing between people, it was tangible.
They felt less isolated, and because they felt a bit stronger together. They were then better able to help each other outside the sessions in the actual recovery work. A ripple effect, absolutely. A real ripple effect of healing going out into the community that really drives home the power of doing that healing work together.
Okay, so we’ve got PRESIE for recent trauma, IGTP for community trauma. What’s the third key adaptation? The third one to highlight is EMDR, intensives, intensives, sounds. Intense chuckles. Slightly it can be, but in a focused way instead of the usual weekly, maybe 50 minute or hour long sessions spread out over months.
Right. Intensives, concentrate the therapy. We’re talking multiple hours a day, maybe over several consecutive days. Okay. That does sound like a big commitment. Who is that best suited for? It’s particularly good for a few groups. People who are really motivated, ready to do deep work. Also, folks who have to travel a long way for specialized treatment.
They wanna make the most of that trip. Makes sense. Maximize the time. Exactly. Or people in urgent situations needing faster relief. Oh, sometimes it’s clients who feel kind of stuck. Maybe you hit a plateau in standard weekly therapy. Mm-hmm. And of course, it helps overcome practical barriers, like tricky schedules, or living far from a trained therapist.
Things that make weekly sessions tough. What are the payoffs, the advantages of going that concentrated route? There are several actually. First, the sustained momentum. You don’t have that week long gap where things might settle back down. This can really accelerate the processing of the tough memories, keep the engine running, so to speak, right?
Also, the extended time allows for deeper exploration. You can go further, potentially integrate the healing more comprehensively in a shorter overall timeframe. For some people it can lead to breakthroughs. Maybe they have avoidance patterns that pop up in weekly therapy, but the intensive format helps push through those.
Okay. And like, like we said, accessibility, it just opens doors for people, limited by time or geography. With that kind of deep dive, though, safety must be a huge consideration. How do you manage that intensity? I. Oh, absolutely paramount. You can’t just jump into an intensive, thorough. Preparation is critical.
Making sure the client has good coping skills, feels stable, well-resourced before you start, right. Laying the groundwork essential. Yeah, and then robust closure is just as important at the end of each intensive day, and definitely at the very end of the whole thing. You need to help the client regulate their nervous system.
Make sure they leave feeling grounded, safe. Not just stirred up and overwhelmed. So careful prep, careful wrap up. Absolutely key. Balancing the depth with safety. This is all painting a picture of EMDR as a really dynamic, evolving field, which is exciting. It really is. So for therapists who might be listening, maybe EMDR trained already, and they’re intrigued by PRESEE or IGTP or intensives, Hmm.
What’s the advice? How do they learn this? Stuff responsibly. Yeah, that’s a crucial point. Yeah, because adaptation isn’t just winging it, right? It must be grounded in a really solid understanding of the standard EMDR protocol. First, you need to know the foundations, the why behind it, the adaptive information processing model that underpins it all.
Okay? So master the basics first, definitely. And then get proper specific training in these adaptive protocols. Don’t just read an article and try it. Where would they find that kind of training? Look for reputable EMBR training providers. Organizations, uh, like the scaling up team, for example, they offer excellent trainings specifically in these adaptations.
Good training won’t just teach the how to the techniques. It’ll explain the why, the rationale, how it still fits with CORE EMBR principles. Mm-hmm. Because responsible adaptation, it’s always informed, informed by the client’s specific needs, by the research evidence we have. And by solid clinical judgment, it’s never about just improvising or deviating randomly from what we know works.
So it’s thoughtful modification, not just doing your own thing precisely like the, again, they know the rules of cooking inside out before they start creating fusion cuisine. You need that strong foundation. That’s really important guidance. Okay. So as we sort of wrap up this deep dive into adapting EMDR, what’s the main takeaway message you hope listeners get?
I think the biggest message is about expanded possibilities. Possibilities for healing. By thoughtfully adapting standard EMDR, we can genuinely broaden its reach. We can make it more effective for more people in more situations. It’s about making this incredibly powerful therapy more accessible, more responsive to the real diverse needs and circumstances people face when dealing with trauma.
So whether it’s that early intervention with EMDR, prec mm-hmm. Or healing whole communities with E-M-D-R-I-G-T-P, right. Or offering that deep focused work through MDR intensives, these adaptations, let us stick to the core of EMDR, but make it. More flexible. Yeah, more impactful in the real world. Exactly.
They represent a really significant step forward, I think. Mm-hmm. A step towards meeting people more effectively, right where they are in their healing journey. This has been fascinating, really insightful, seeing how an evidence-based treatment like EMDR isn’t static, but it’s evolving to meet challenges better.
And it really makes you think, doesn’t it? For you listening, maybe consider this. Where else could we benefit from adapting, effective, established approaches, not just in therapy, but maybe other fields too. How can we make powerful tools fit the messy complexities of real world needs better? What are the implications of making these kinds, kinds of tools more widely available, more adaptable?
Something to mull over until our next deep dive.