Conditioned Emotional Patterns

Conditioned Emotional Patterns are formed early in life in all kinds of ways about all kinds of things.  They become the basis for the ‘life themes’ we develop, which then becomes the way we live our lives.  It is difficult to tell when we are living life in the ‘present moment’ and when we are living out of a ‘conditioned pattern’ – but it is safe to say that we live out of our emotional patterns a lot.  And, that is where ‘problems’ come in; that is, we live out of our conditioning (habits from the past) rather than in our current life as it is unfolding.

EMDR theory suggests that when we experience a ‘trauma’ the feelings and emotions that are happening during the event are being stored in a certain way that can cause them to be unresolved and, therefore, easily triggered.  When they are triggered, we can have feelings, thoughts, and reactions related much more to what happened in the past than what is happening currently, during the instance of being triggered.

One example of that is combat stress and the ‘startle response.’  A soldier develops a ‘conditioned emotional response’ to loud noises.  The ‘emotional conditioning’ includes ‘memories’ of the sound, feelings of fear and anxiety and tension throughout the body.  Later, when back in the US, a loud sound will trigger the ‘conditioned emotional pattern’ and the accompanying feelings, fears and body tensions will also be triggered causing a reaction that while it feels very real is more related to the past than the present.

Actually, this same type of thing happens to us all the time, only it is much more subtle and difficult to discern.  When we move away from ‘trauma’ to ‘life events’ that happened that were chronically unpleasant, but that became “what we’re used to,” we see that we’re constantly being triggered and living in reactivity to our conditioned emotional patterns.

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Dr. Amber Quaranta-Leech, LPC-S

Amber holds a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision from Regent University. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in both Texas and Oklahoma and holds Supervisor credential for Texas. Amber is an EMDRIA consultant and trainer. She has over a decade of experience in the trauma field in work with uniformed services, domestic violence, childhood trauma and abuse, and recent mass trauma events. Amber provides consultation for EMDRIA certification, for consultants-in-training, and supervision for LPC-Associates. Amber continues to research the benefits of EMDR therapy with a variety of populations. Her goal is to help build strong clinicians who are well versed in trauma interventions to better support their clients. Amber sees a limited number of clients with a focus on trauma work, she is also a Certified Career Counselor and Certified through EAGALA to provide equine-assisted therapy. 

Dr. Jose Carbajal, LCSW

Dr. Jose Carbajal, a U.S. Army veteran, earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work and a master’s in theological studies from Baylor University, and a Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Texas at Arlington. With over 15 years of clinical experience and extensive teaching experience, Jose specializes in trauma, sexual abuse recovery, domestic violence, and substance abuse. His research focuses on trauma interventions, neuroscience, and faith. He is EMDR Certified, an Approved Consultant, and an EMDRIA Approved Trainer, with numerous publications and professional presentations to his name.

Dr. Amanda Martin, LMFT-S, LPC, BCN

Amanda Martin holds a PhD in Family Therapy and is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Supervisor, and EMDRIA Approved Consultant. With over 14 years of experience, she specializes in trauma therapy for individuals and families in residential and outpatient settings. Amanda also provides supervision for EMDR certification, EMDR consultants-in-training, and LMFT-Associates. Her mission is to help people find a healthy, joyful, and fulfilling path in life. Her warm, supportive, and interactive counseling style incorporates Symbolic Experiential Therapy, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, EMDR, HeartMath, Animal-Assisted Therapy, Neurofeedback, and Collaborative Problem Solving.

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