Christina Janiga Psychotherapy - Blog
This blog is not a substitute for therapy, but provides evidence-based education for the purposes of self-help and information
EMDR Therapy and the Flash Technique: How These Therapies Help Process Trauma
More than 30 years ago, a groundbreaking therapy called Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) was introduced by Dr. Francine Shapiro. Since then, it has evolved into an 8-phased therapy used to treat symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), trauma, anxiety, and other adverse life experiences. In addition to EMDR Therapy, the Flash Technique has emerged as an effective adjunct tool in the preparation phase (phase 2) of EMDR therapy. Both techniques have shown efficacy in helping individuals process traumatic memories and reduce emotional distress. We hope to shed some light on both the mechanisms and effectiveness of EMDR therapy and the Flash Technique and how their potential can benefit individuals looking to heal from trauma.
Understanding Trauma Responses and EMDR Therapy
EMDR therapy is based on the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, which suggests that the brain has a natural way of processing information related to daily experienced events into a fully adaptive resolution. In other words, the brain takes in every day experiences, processes it, stores it, and gets rid of details that it deems irrelevant. Similar to difficult experiences, the brain has a natural capacity to heal and is always working towards a balanced state. However, sometimes, and for some individuals, traumatic memories can become “frozen” in their own neural networks, leading to distressing reactions when triggered.
For example, someone who experienced a car accident can develop symptoms of post traumatic stress (heart rate increases, sweating, feeling nausea, or having images or flashbacks of the accident) every time they sit back into a car or drive by the site of the accident. The information the brain receives from our senses (what we see, hear, taste, smell, touch that is related to the trauma) signals our brain that we are still in “danger”. So our brain, does what it naturally does to keep us safe – signals the nervous system to activate our fight, flight, freeze, and fawn responses.
Fight, flight, freeze, and fawn are the responses we need for basic survival.
Our cognitive/logical mind knows (or learns overtime) that we are ok and safe sitting in a car, but our nervous system, that may still be stuck/frozen in the traumatic moment, does not belief it is safe – it still believes that we need our basic survival responses.
Many times, people indicate that they know they’re safe, but they don’t feel it.
EMDR Therapy aims to unstick these “frozen” trauma memories, from a bottom up type of approach or by targeting the nervous system. This type of psychotherapy activates the nervous system and helps individuals process the trauma, desensitize the emotional and nervous system based responses, and integrates new and adaptive learning. Simply, through EMDR therapy, “stuck” trauma memories become “unstuck” and sitting in a car or driving by the accident site becomes, once again, mundane events.
Sometimes, the distress of this becomes overwhelming that even through phases 3-7 of EMDR therapy can be effective to help process the emotional distress, the readiness of the individual may have overlaying fears (of the EMDR process itself, of the sensations within their body, with other complexities within their life) that make the experience of processing fee like it is too much – like the temperature is too “hot” to process.
The Flash Technique – as an option to turn down the temperature.
The Flash Technique was developed by Philip Manfield as a complementary tool within the preparation phase of EMDR (phase 2). Its primary goal is to swiftly and (nearly) painlessly reduce emotional disturbance associated with traumatic memories. Some traumatic events can be so highly distressing that even the thought of it can induce severe symptoms of anxiety and/or contribute to symptoms of dissociation. The Flash Technique was developed as alternative to turn down the temperature of this emotional distress so that individuals could think about the traumatic memory and continue reprocessing it with the remaining phases of standard EMDR therapy treatment.
How the Flash Technique works?
To date, there are many different version of the Flash Technique that have adapted from the original script developed by Philip Manfield. In brief, how the Flash Technique was originally taught was by having individuals identify a traumatic memory and rate its emotional disturbance on a scale of 0 to 10. Then, they are guided to shift their focus to something positive and engaging, such as a happy memory or an enjoyable activity, while engaging in bilateral tapping (pivotal component to EMDR therapy). Periodically, individuals are prompted to blink quickly three to five times. After several sets of blinks, individuals are guided back to check in with level of distress when they think about the traumatic memory and note any reduction in disturbance. This process is repeated until the individual feels the disturbance has been minimized – or, the temperature of the distress has decreased. Importantly, individuals often experience reduced distress without consciously processing.
You can learn more about the The Flash Technique here.
Why does blinking help with trauma? The Theory of Memory Reconsolidation
In science, there are multiple theories that try to help us understand what’s happening when we incorporate psychotherapies like EMDR therapy or the Flash Technique. With EMDR therapy we have the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model to help explain what is happening neurologically with traumatically stored memories. With the Flash Technique, some therapists implement the theory of Memory Reconsolidation to help conceptualize what is happening through the process.
It is believed that memory reconsolidation is a fundamental process that helps our brains adapt to new information and experiences, allowing us to learn from our mistakes and update our knowledge. This is an evolving concept in the field of neuroscience and psychology that suggests that memories are dynamic and can be modified (or updated) when the memories are reactivated, allowing for changes in emotional learning and behaviour. When we replace a distressing memory with something calming, happy or engaging, we “trick” our minds into learning something new about the experience – by inserting snippets of “good” stuff into the “bad” stuff until it’s not so “bad” anymore. The Flash Technique is just one of the many memory reconsolidation techniques used in psychotherapy for trauma treatment.
The Flash Technique is not the first intervention utilized for trauma, but it is simple, fast, and effective.
A Flash-Like Therapy called 4 Blinks
The one limiting factor with the Flash Technique is that it is mainly known for its use in the 8 phases of EMDR therapy and primarily used by trained EMDR therapists.
In our efforts to make psychotherapy more accessible, both for the general public and for newly trained psychotherapists wanting to access affordable, trauma processing treatment training, the team at Christina Janiga Psychotherapy (interns and psychotherapists) receive training in the Flash-like approach called 4 Blinks. The protocol for the Flash-like approach of 4 Blinks was developed by Thomas Zimmerman, Ms. Ed., LPCC, an approved EMDR consultant in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Flash-like approach of 4 Blinks utilizes the theory of memory reconsolidation in a similar way as the Flash Technique. Like the Flash Technique, this method works by briefly thinking about a bad memory, then quickly pushing it out of mind. While the bad memory is still in the background of your thoughts, you focus on a happy scene. Every now and then, you blink quickly, guided by a trained psychotherapist, to disrupt your focus on the happy scene. The therapist makes sure the happy scene stays clear and doesn’t mix with the bad memory. Over the course of a psychotherapy session, this process helps move the bad memory from being highly active to being normal and less bothersome. By the end, the bad memory feels like it happened in the past, doesn’t cause strong body reactions, brings more positive thoughts about yourself, and stops causing intrusive symptoms like flashbacks or nightmares.
The difference in this is that it lets you imagine a calm place or use real calming activities (like watching fish or petting a dog), and avoids extra steps like bilateral stimulation (which is a foundational step in EMDR therapy).
(For Psychotherapist) Steps you can take to Learn More
- Get trained formally in the Flash Technique :
- Philip Manfield (developer): https://flashtechnique.com/
- Ricky Greenwald’s Child Trauma Institute: https://www.childtrauma.com/training/Flash
- Experiment with various scripts to find an approach that works for you.
- Tom’s script is located at: http://FourBlinks.com (a non-copyright/open source approach to Flash-like approaches)
- You can join the Flash Sandbox on Facebook and coordinate with other therapists to practice Flash-like approaches with each other: https://www.facebook.com/groups/flashsandbox
- Join Tom’s EMDR Third Weekend https://emdrthirdweekend.com/
Book a free 15 minuted consultation call.
If you are interested in seeking psychotherapy to help you overcome trauma and believe that the Flash-like Therapy called 4 Blinks or Flash (with our EMDR therapists) would be a good fit for you, we encourage you to reach out to us for a free 15-minute consultation. During the consultation, we will answer any questions you have about our practice and our psychotherapists, and help you determine if we are the right fit . We believe that feeling comfortable with your therapist is essential for a successful therapeutic relationship.
About The Author
Christina Janiga, BSc, MACP, RP is a registered psychotherapist providing in person and virtual psychotherapy and therapy intensives in Burlington, ON and across Ontario. She is a Certified EMDR therapist and a EMDR Consultant. She is trained in multiple modalities of trauma-focused healing to best support individuals who are looking to feel better faster.