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Re: EMDR & Addictions, I

Thanks to all who responded to my post on addictions and EMDR.
They were most thoughtful, considerate, and showed an openness
of this group to consider methods other than NLP (if EMDR is
actually something other than NLP).

As time allows, I'd like to respond to the many issues raised.
I've managed to respond to a couple of them below.

Michael Doherty wrote:
>I guess my question is how you think EMDR is different from NLP?

Brent Auble wrote:
>EMDR in fact can be explained from an NLP standpoint and be added to the NLP
>repertoire of techniques.  EMDR consists of moving the eyes back
>and forth (from side to side) when thinking about an anxiety
>producing memory/mental state (correct me if I'm wrong about
>this.)  Now, connect how NLP describes mental states and the NLP
>eye-movement hypothesis.  By moving the eyes back and forth
>quickly, the mental representation of that unwanted state/memory
>is getting scrambled.  This is exactly what happens in the fast
>phobia (theater) technique, just without explicitly eliciting the
>memory and dissociating from the experience.  All the fast phobia
>technique ultimately does is scramble the mental representation
>of the phobic cue(s) so that their effect is neutralized.

I agree that there are many similarities between EMDR and NLP's Fast
Phobia/Trauma Cure (FPTC).  I think there are also some differences.
When using EMDR, the subject is instructed to follow the therapist's
moving fingers with their eyes while the traumatic memory is recalled.
Thus, the subject moves their eyes in a manner other than they normally
would while the memory is held in consciousness.

I agree that this induces a processing of the traumatic information
in new ways and we can call this "scrambling".  I think FPTC also induces
novel processing and is also very successful.  My own experience with the
two techniques is that after EMDR, the subject usually has much more thoroughly
and more deeply processed the traumatic material when compared with FPTC.
They spontaneously generate often startling insights, the verbal and
non-verbal signs of relief are more pronounced, and they are much more
motivated to continue their therapeutic endeavors.  As a result of these
observations, I'm inclined to think that there are differences in how the
information is being processed with the two techniques.  My experience
has convinced me that there are subtle differences between FPTC and EMDR.
I think FPTC is very good and EMDR is even better.

I also think that NLP encompasses a vast body of techniques and methods
which go far beyond trauma resolution and are some of most powerful and
effective
that I know.  EMDR is very specific to traumatic experiences and various
anxieties.
Thus, I'm comparing EMDR to only one of NLP's techniques.  That I find it
superior to FPTC doesn't diminish my respect for or use of many of NLP's other
techniques.  Both before and after using EMDR with a patient, I used many of
the other NLP techniques with excellent results.

Cheers,
Dave DiRito