Adjunct Trauma Treatment Using Flash
Have you struggled with difficult memories for months, years, or even decades?
Have you tried to cope with post-trauma symptoms with little success?
What if you could improve your trauma symptoms quickly, without needing to talk about or focus on the details of the memory?
The Flash Technique was initially developed to make EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) more comfortable by reducing the unpleasant impacts of needing to focus on the trauma. While EMDR requires focusing on the trauma memory during treatment, Flash allows trauma processing to occur in the background without this focus. Research has shown that Flash can effectively resolve trauma memories on its own, without the need for the full EMDR protocol. It is hypothesized that one way it works is by allowing trauma processing to happen in the background while you are focusing on something more pleasant.
Like EMDR, flash uses bilateral stimulation (alternating tapping on one side of your body and then the other) to process the trauma. But unlike EMDR, you do not have to focus on the traumatic memory during processing. At the beginning of the session, we will identify the memory you want to work on as well as a pleasant topic to focus on. While engaging in bilateral stimulation, we will talk about the pleasant topic, not the trauma. Research suggests that briefly bringing up the trauma at the beginning of the session is enough to bring it to mind to allow it to be processed during the treatment process.
Many people find that their traumas are processed within just a couple of sessions. The Flash Technique can also be beneficial for addressing other issues such as phobias and obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
The Details:
I offer Flash as part of my individual therapy work with clients, or as an adjunct to your work with another therapist. When doing Flash in addition to work with another therapist, we can do 50-minute sessions once per week for several weeks, or we can do an “intensive” format, where we set aside a few hours one day a week for two or three weeks.
Weekly work can be helpful for those who want to use their insurance to pay for treatment. An Intensive style can be helpful for those who want to resolve trauma more quickly, want to set aside a longer block of time to address it, and do not need to rely on insurance coverage for services.
The amount of time we will need in total will depend on how many memories or symptoms you want to work on and how complicated those experiences are.
We will talk about what you need and how exactly we want to spend our time.
This is for you if:
You’re looking to form a solid foundation for your trauma recovery that can help deepen your work in individual therapy.
You have a memory that you struggle to stop thinking about, and/or a behavior or thought pattern that you have struggled to stop.
You’re looking for treatment specifically focused on resolving trauma memories and their impacts.
You would like to work on trauma recovery while maintaining your relationship with your current therapist.
Pricing
I am in-network with BCBS, Harvard Pilgrim, and Aetna, and can take most of these plans from most states in the US. Please note that insurance only covers one hour of therapy per day, so it will not cover intensives.
My out—of-pocket rate for sessions is $140 per 50-minute session, with a limited sliding scale option as needed.