“Warp Speed” Healing*

Why I Am Hooked on Experiential Process Therapies

Soon after I began using these therapies, I realized they worked better than anything I had used before. Both the older and newer process therapies seem to powerfully activate most people’s intuitions in ways that lead to deeper healing. They open new ways for people to see themselves and feel about themselves—which lead in turn to new and more appropriate choices.

Why are these therapies effective?

1.They seem to work the way the brain works and, more importantly, the
way people function.

If you have ever sat on the edge of your seat watching a suspenseful
movie, or have teared up watching a sentimental movie, you already
have some sense of what makes experiential therapies so effective.
The combination of sound, image, and flow of events makes a good
script compelling as it draws you into the emotional experience that
the movie is designed to convey. Great movies use common life
experiences to enable you to identify with the plot and the characters.

Similarly, these therapies create or change internal movies, billboards
and scripts in ways that people feel good about.

2. The way in which healing and solutions fit each person has consistently
impressed me.

For instance, if I was working with you, I may help set the stage for
you or explain an underlying principle, but you would fill in the details
that are most critical for you. Your conclusions and solutions would
be tailor-made because they originate from you.

3. The reports I get back from clients tend to reflect discovery of personal
change rather than something I have talked them into doing or
believing.

For example:
•“I responded more calmly this time,” rather than “I made
myself act calm.”
•“When I remember what happened, I feel at peace with it
now,” rather than “I keep reminding myself that it wasn’t my
fault.”

4. In my experience, these therapies tend to work faster than the therapies I
used previously. I am not alone in this experience.  David Grand, a
trained psychoanalyst, entitled his book on one prominent process
therapy as Emotional Healing at Warp Speed¬: The Power of EMDR
(Grand, 2003).

What it means for me is that I typically expect my client to experience some meaningful and positive shift almost every time we work. Those shifts, however small, add up to create big shifts.

It is quite common along the course of therapy to hear things such as:
•“I used to just lose it when things went wrong at work. Now I help
others calm down and think things through—if they are willing.”
•“My family used to avoid me when I came home from work. Now, most
days, they are happy to see me.”
•I have stopped taking the blame so quickly when my spouse/child/mother
blames me."
•“I don’t feel so responsible for other people’s problems now. I am
a lot freer to let them fix their own problems.”
•“I never used to like myself before. Now I do.”
•“I still want to leave my crazy job, but I’m not so desperate now….
I don’t feel guilty any more about wanting to do something new.”

References:

*Grand, David. Emotional Healing at Warp Speed: The Power of EMDR. New York: Present Tents Publishing, 2003.

Copyright 2009 Gordon Glessner


     Gordon Glessner, M.A.
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
At Link Care Center
1734 W. Shaw Avenue
Fresno, CA 93711
(559) 439-2647 Ext. 143