EFFECTIVE AND POWERFUL SHORT-TERM THERAPY TECHNIQUES

By Carol Boulware, Ph.D.

Following are brief descriptions of relatively new effective therapies which are viable alternatives to traditional "talk" and long-term insight-building psychotherapy techniques. Because they offer quick results, coping strategies and the need to repeatedly re-live the past are eliminated.

These exciting, leading-edge techniques make rapid diagnosis and short-term, even immediate, therapeutic results a reality for a wide range of trauma-related and psychological problems.

EMDR This powerful technique, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a collaborative effort in which the client and the therapist work together to trigger the mind's natural healing mechanisms. Using the same premise as REM (rapid eye movement) normally used by the brain during sleep time to process stress, eye movement techniques open the flow of energy which has previously been blocked by trauma. Results are often immediate. In most cases, the client is no longer bothered by disturbing memories or other emotional distress caused by a traumatic incident.

TFT Developed by Dr. Roger J. Callahan, Thought Field Therapy utilizes the energy meridians also used in acupuncture and acupressure body therapies. In this process, specific energy points of the neural network on which thoughts travel from the brain(thought fields) are stimulated by sequential tapping patterns. The tapping sequence has the effect of clearing away the negative energy "stored" in these fields form psychological disturbances. Consequently, emotional distress is greatly decreased or eliminated.

EFT This technique was created by Gary Craig, who studied TFT under Dr. Callahan. Emotional Freedom Technique involves a single tapping procedure that is simple and easy to learn. The process, which is relaxing and energizing for the client, releases negative emotional energy stored in the nervous system after and emotionally disturbing event.

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Dr. Carol Boulware is a Psychotherapist and a Certified EMDR Therapist practicing in Santa Monica and Redondo Beach. She is a member of the Independent Psychotherapy Network. Contact Dr. Boulware at (310) 395-3351 or carolphd@psychotherapist.net. Her website is http://www.EMDR-Therapy.com

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