Let’s talk metaphors
This month we wanted to take a moment and talk about something that’s really important with the EMDR process and that is making sure our clients understand what EMDR is and how it can help. Regardless of the age of the client you work with, you want to make sure that they understand what the process will look like and why we may be going about it in a particular way. We are helpers and a part of that job description is making sure our clients are fully prepared for the EMDR work you've already embarked on. So what's a fun and creative way to do that, through metaphors and stories!
You may have some high functioning clients who understand the neuroscience and the mechanisms of the brain at work during the EMDR process. However, most of our clients that we work with don’t have the capacity to understand medical jargon. They may not understand what we’re talking about when we refer to the amygdala as a stop sign and how the goal of EMDR is to remain in a ventral vagal state. It is important that we understand those concepts but not as important for our clients to, in that language. These terms may even be activating to some of our clients and the problems they present with. When we think about working with kiddos and adolescents, they won’t understand at all about the neuroscience of the brain unless it is adapted.
So how do we begin to meet people where they are at, while explaining EMDR. This is when we get to be creative and welcome metaphors! I have found that metaphors land very well across a range of cognitive developmental stages. Metaphors are a way for people to relate to healing. They become a window into the possibility of growth in a world that encompasses change. There are so many metaphors to lean on when describing trauma and EMDR, this month we’re going to focus on a few of our favorites.
Trauma has been described as an onion with many layers that complex trauma adds to. I’ve also heard trauma described as a scar, having healed over an open wound. Some clinicians describe it as an avocado, with an outside shell, inside network, and a pit of authenticity.
A Geode
Trauma is much like a geode with beauty trapped inside
- Adapted from Ana Gomez, 2010
So how do we take this topic of EMDR, which is a very specialized form of therapy and make it salient to anyone who may walk in our office? First we want them to understand a little bit about what happens in the brain when we undergo stress; both acute and chronic. We pull back in psychoeducation and introduce Dan Siegel‘s hand-brain model, or some neuroscience on the prefrontal cortex and what gets hijacked during high periods of stress. We adjust our language to resonate with the client sitting across from us and then we let them in on the secret that EMDR is a way to re-process those stories and heal from those memories.
With younger kids we pull in playful metaphors such as the digestion metaphor. Our digestive tracts have a very important job, which most kids understand the concept of. We eat some food and chew it up into little itty-bitty pieces before we swallow it. The digestive tract's job is to move those pieces through our bodies and hold onto all of the things that give our bodies nutrients and energy while continuing to push through and expel all the things that don’t help us. Our brains, however, don’t have the capacity to do that by themselves. This is where EMDR can be really helpful! EMDR becomes the method and the way that our brains chew up information into itty-bitty bite-size pieces. Through EMDR our brains can determine what we need to hold onto that is helpful and nutrient rich, all while getting rid of the other pieces that aren’t serving us.
Train Metaphor
In basic training most of us are taught the train metaphor, how EMDR is much like sitting on a train and moving forward. We never ask anybody to relive experiences, but rather watch them out the train window as a blur as they go by. As the helpers, we make sure the clients know they are never on that train alone.
We adjust our metaphors to match what is needed individually from each client. Perhaps you're working with someone who may have a lower threshold for processing. Rather than a train we introduce a movie theater metaphor. Sometimes we introduce EMDR as a dandelion with seeds blowing through the breeze. EMDR becomes a safe process where healing can happen from a safe distance.
With adults sometimes we introduce rescue metaphors, that EMDR gets to become an incredible rescue journey that we go on together. We prepare for this journey, just as we would any rescue mission, and then we revisit, heal and repair.
Whatever the metaphor you pick, we encourage you to get creative with that. The takeaway with these metaphors is how we can meet our clients where they’re at in a fun and understanding way. These are so powerful, particularly with children and adolescents for them to understand and feel heard going into revisiting something scary. Our job as therapists is to create an environment that is not only welcoming but safe. We have to understand that we are asking our clients to do heavy and hard work even if it looks like play or it seems straightforward, it isn’t and we have to honor that they need to understand the process. This is where we give you permission to be creative and come up with a metaphor that best meets the needs of the person sitting in front of you because we want them to understand how truly healing EMDR can be.
Check out these amazing illustrations we use when introducing some of these metaphors here.
