EMDR Therapy: Treatment planning on a time crunch
So you have completed basic EMDR therapy training and you are ready to start processing targets with your clients. You’ve got this. Start in phase one and work right on through to phase, 8, right? Create a perfectly ordered target sequence based on the client’s greatest, destress, right?
While these are often the best practices for treatment and positive outcomes for clients, new EMDR therapists are often quickly confronted with the reality of real-life scenarios impeding the perfect treatment planning interventions taught in EMDR therapy basic training curriculums.
Clients are in seasons of transition, limited by jobs or school semesters, EAP or Workman’s comp programs limit session numbers, finances or insurance coverage may create barriers, and even some agency programming may limit service longevity.
So what do you do when time constraints keep you from completing the EMDR therapy treatment plans you desire or know are ideal for a client? Today we will address 5 possible approaches to assist clients when time is limited.
Single target processing:
This is one of the most simple, yet still effective treatment planning methods for EMDR therapy. If a client is distressed by an incident or event that has occurred, pick a single incident that is the source of distress. Pick the target that you have the most confidence can be processed in the time frame for treatment that you have. If other incidents come up through the course of processing you may need to be ready to contain those other incidents and redirect them back to the original incident at hand
2. EMD or EMDr processing for current day triggers:
So you are short on time but your client is experiencing significant trauma triggering and symptoms. Targeting and processing the most prevalent, most invasive, or highest priority present-day trigger with the EMD or EMDr protocols can be a great way to bring some stability and relief while also being time-efficient.
3. Future prong processing:
Do you have a client with fear surrounding an imminent or upcoming event, and it is not practical or possible to process all of the preceding or contributing traumas? These future prong techniques can help.
Flash forward - This technique can be used to apply standard protocol formatting to a future or anticipated fear. While the scripts and best practices do suggest processing the past prong first, this is a viable option for addressing future fears when time and resources are limited. Here is a link to a copy of that script.
Future template - Similarly, when short on time and future events are cousin distress, the EMDR therapy future template can help to install positive feelings with the upcoming fear when time is short. Here is a link to find where to access those scripts.
4. Stick with resourcing:
When time feels too short to safely open and close trauma-related targets, resourcing templates aimed at helping clients access positive or strength-oriented parts of themselves more readily can be a great ethical option of short-term care. We will explore options and kinds of resourcing in the future.
5. Brief intervention protocols:
There are a number of brief intervention protocols that are great tools for these situations where you are short on time Ignacio Jarrero is one of the most prolific writers and researchers of these protocols.
If you are interested in specializing in some of this brief intervention work, consider getting advanced training in ASSYST, PRECI, or IGTP. They really can enhance your proficiency and efficiency in these time-crunch situations.
