This has application to using with EMDR. I think EMDR works well without understanding the underlying emotional learning that has taken place in implicit learning that is one of the benefits of EMDR. However, working in the way he suggests with implicit emotional learning, could be an important part of the overall therapy process.
Here are my notes:
Markers of Change:
Symptom Cessation
Behaviors, emotions, thoughts and somatic disappear
Non-reativation
A specific emotional activation is no lingered triggered
Effortless Performance
Non-Recurrence continues without counteractive or preventative measures.
New learning competes with old learning, as new learning creates new neural circuits but doesn’t resolve the old ones.
The new circuits land on the old circuits and in the process unwiring and rewiring the old circuits to the new circuits.
Emotional learnings are implicit learnings.
emotional learnings are brought into explicit awareness, and are felt emotionally and are put into words.
Core belief: “If I feel sad or hurt or scared I’ll be attacked and humiliated, so I’ve got to keep my feelings pushed away.
If I feel sad (from loss of a relationship (attachment break)) or hurt (from being angered against) or scared (fear of being attacked by an attachment figure) I’ll be attacked (assaulted) and humiliated (shame)
So I’ve got to keep my feelings pushed away; meaning I’ve got to avoid feeling the feelings that are appearing in my field of awareness.
So, there are avoidance strategies that are dysfunctional – cause energy loss (e.g. denial).
I don’t get the benefit of the information the feeling is bringing me. I don’t know what is not being felt so I don’t know how to effectively monitor my environment.
The root cause of all our problems is emotional learnings in implicit memory.
1. Reactivate target schema as a conscious emotional experience.
2. Guide a contradictory experience. This juxtaposition unlocks (de-consolidates) the target schema’s memory circuits. (“Mismatch”/“prediction error” experience.)
3. Repeat contradictory experience in juxtaposition with target schema. This re-writes and erases target schema.