The therapeutic technique of EMDR is my favorite technique to use as I have found it helps my clients reduce their emotional pain quicker than other methods.  I learned recently of a new development in EMDR called The Flash Technique that often quickens the recovery process.

To use the Flash Technique the therapist asks the client to rate how disturbing the problem is using a SUDS scale of 1 to 10, where a 1 is not distressing at all and a 10 is the most distressing possible. Numbers in between 1 and 10 show increasing levels of distress. The therapist asks the client to put that problem out of her mind, then to concentrate on a memory or activity or song that makes the person feel happy. The therapist instructs the client to tap her legs or arms alternatively, while thinking of the happy memory, then asks the client to blink her eyes 3 times when the therapist says Flash. This is repeated 5 times.  The therapist asks the client to briefly rate the original problem again on a scale of 1 to 10. This sequence may be repeated 2 to 5 times. By then, the original problem is most often felt to be much less disturbing.

EMDR therapist Phillip Mayfield is developing The Flash Technique. He has been a EMDR practitioner since the 1990’s. He has conducted trainings for The Flash Technique since 2017 where he has had 1350 participants practice The Flash Technique on their own problems. The results have been impressive. This is true especially considering these people were 1) practicing without the help of a therapist 2) newly trained 3) doing this technique while watching a training over the internet.

Mayfield asked each of the 1350 participants to rate their problems using the 1 to 10 SUDS scale. The average SUDS was a 6 to 7 out of 10 before they used the Flash Technique. The average SUDS of the participants after 10 to 15 minutes of using the Flash Technique went down to 1.4 to 2.6! Many participants rated their disturbance of the problem they worked on 4 weeks later. Their SUDS ratings went down further to 1.07 to 1.91.

I practiced this method on a couple of problems that were disturbing to me as I attended this webinar. I was surprised to find out how quickly my level of disturbance went down.  One of the problems I picked had disturbed me for months so I was not surprised that the next day the problem was bothering me again.  I used The Flash Technique a second time and my distress almost disappeared within 10 minutes.

Recently I used the Flash Technique on a new client that was being triggered to under eat by a painful memory of being shamed by a parent many years before. We only had 15 minutes left in the session. I knew we could not go too deep into this problem.  Her SUDS of the shame she felt was a 9/10 when we started. Five minutes later her level of disturbance had gone down to a 2.  We both were surprised how quickly she felt better about something that had affected her so deeply for so long .

Another time I helped a client who could not stop overeating comfort food at night. I asked her to rate how much she wanted to eat at night. She rated this as a 8/10. Within 10 minutes her desire to eat at night went down to a 2/10. This client realized that her desire to eat at night was to not deal with feelings she had about being molested by an older sibling at night when she was a little girl. She rated this memory a 10/10 for how disturbing it was to remember. I used the Flash Technique again. Her level of disturbance about the memory went down to a 4 .

Last week I used the Flash Technique with a client who was very depressed about his financial situation. Despite working long hours he had debt that weighed him down. Within 15 minutes of using the Flash Technique, his level of distress about his finances went from a 9/10 to a 1/10. He switched from feeling depressed about his debt to feeling confident his plan to pay his debt down was going to work. He realized he needed to be more patient about this process. –

One of my clients works at a call center for a large company where she has to deal with one angry customer after another. It was understandable that she was anxious about going to work. I used the Flash Technique while having her think about a customer who cussed her out. Her level of distress went down 30 percent. After that I used the normal EMDR protocol to bring her emotional pain level down another 40 percent. Usually for a situation like this I also have to address memories of the client being bullied or insulted in teen or childhood years that increases the pain of the client who is insulted by her customers. She may need additional sessions to address specific customers who stick in her mind as being unusually unreasonable and shaming.

I believe The Flash Technique is going to revolutionize how EMDR will be done in the future.  I look forward to using this method to help reduce my clients’ depression, anxiety, overeating and trauma after effects. If you are interested in working with me to experience how helpful this technique can be for you, please call me at 586-799-2399 or write me at suzanneenergy@gmail.com. If you would like to learn more how I help people with overeating problems, go here