Differentiation Between IEMT Eye Movement Work and Eye Movement Systems
Differentiation Between IEMT Eye Movement Work and Eye Movement (EM) Systems:
Regarding working with eye movements, first of all, let's distinguish between two forms of eye movements:
A. Bilateral Stimulation (BLS)
B. Directed Movements.
In most methods that use EMs (mainly those not based on IEMT as the source, or that do not understand the nuances of IEMT), EMs are just another way to perform Bi-Lateral Stimulation (BLS).
In EMDR, they took it a step further and discovered that you can perform BLS in three different ways:
A. Visual BLS or Eye Movements BLS.
B. Auditory BLS - and there are many!! tunes with auditory BLS on YouTube (I will detail later how to use this easily**)
C. Kinesthetic BLS - various types of tapping (in some EMDR, they use electrodes that create light tactile stimulation on the hands, then the BLS is external - like in eye movements and auditory BLS)
External Vs Internal BLS
External BLS:
A. Eye movements directed by someone else,
B. Music - an external tool directs the auditory BLS,
C. Electrodes or tapping by the therapist on the patient's knees - kinesthetic BLS.
Internal BLS
Tapping is done by the patient themselves, or self-directed eye movements (mainly right-left, that's enough). I am sure that each has its own advantages and disadvantages, but I have not yet found studies that distinguish between them (and I am currently working on finding the nuances, differences, and advantages of external BLS versus internal BLS).
The bottom line that I found out is this:
It doesn't matter which BLS technique you're using!
The result will be very similar.
So if there are any issues with the client's eyes, that prevent doing Visual BLS - you can switch to use Auditory BLS and/or Kinesthetic BLS.
Problem Solved.
Now, what is the difference between working with Visual BLS and working with eye movements in ala IEMT? (and also relevant to EMI from which IEMT was influenced as well)
EMs in IEMT are not just BLS (although they have the benefits of Visual BLS), but they also involve directed eye movement work based on modalities and activating different specific areas in the brain: the visual cortex, the auditory cortex, the kinesthetic cortex, and the area responsible for internal dialogue.
Moreover, in EMs work in IEMT, in addition to the movements themselves, the therapist looks for certain phenomena to act upon (Eye deviations, location of visuals in mental space). This is an interesting advantage that IEMT treatment has over other methods of Eye Movement.
How critical is this difference?
It's not critical as long as the BLS works, it becomes critical in more challenging cases, chronic cases, and complex cases (example below) where the 'presented problem' is just a symptom of something deeper, then these nuances can have a huge advantage.
How to use auditory BLS
- Think about the internal representation (memory, imagination, thought) that is activating.
- Emotional Scaling: And Between 1 to 10 how strong is that feeling?
- A-BLS: Think about the internal representation with closed eyes while listening to BLS music (can be easily found on YouTube: search for bilateral music)
- 2nd Emotional Scaling: And when you think about the Internal rep (memory, thought, etc..) now between 1 to 10 how strong is that feeling?
- Continue until the intensity of the feeling drops to 0
Two examples of what I call a complex case:
(This was written as a response to a request from someone in an NLP group for ideas on treating social anxiety).
I can’t comment on your case because I think I don't have enough information to suggest something. But I can tell you about 2 cases I had, maybe they will provoke some thoughts for you:
I can tell about a treatment I did with someone who suffered from social anxiety, only after two significant meetings that made extensive changes but did not “cured” the “Social Anxiety” - we discovered that her problem isn't really ‘social anxiety’, but a problem of disgust.
She had an emotional imprint of disgust from feet, which expanded to her seeing her image of disgust when she sees people, and then she feels a lot of guilt and shame that she is disgusted by people.
Over time this expanded and the diagnosis given to her was "social anxiety", but no treatment really helped her over time.
Therefore her problem was chronic and what I call a ‘complex case’.
Sometimes - the "diagnosed" problem is just a symptom of something deeper that masquerades as the presenting problem.
Here's another example of what I call ‘complex case’:
- Diagnosis: Acute anxiety based on OCD thoughts (intrusive thoughts about lesbianism)
- After several meetings, we came upon several issues that created a multi-layered frustration, and every time we released, what I call "one layer", something "deeper" emerged:
- Severe anxieties affecting her life -- the presented problem that she came with
- Beneath that was a fear of going crazy (like her mother) The presented problem: "I have OCD with obsessive thoughts"
- Beneath that there was great shame and counselling (From when she was a kid and they were hiding that her mother is "crazy" and from other various past events of shame) - The presented problem: "I hope they don't discover I'm a lesbian or having issues with this"
- Beneath it was an internal conflict between two parts: "the “I” that knows I'm not a lesbian and not attracted to women at all" and on the other hand "the “I” that When I think about certain women it arouses something in me" - something that created her a lot of difficulties and distress over the years - The presented problem: "I don't trust myself"
- Beneath that were huge doubts in her absolute knowledge that she is not attracted to women and that she is not a lesbian and other things she knew for certain about herself.
- Beneath all that (and a significant breakthrough) - A childish belief that she later said it was her biggest fear in life: "If I am strong, okay, and happy God will take my father"
Therefore my recommendation is to follow and learn to distinguish:
Between the symptoms - the way the problem presents itself and between internal patterns that activate it.
In NLP Talk: core beliefs, traumatic events, childhood anchors, strategies, parts that haven't matured yet, etc.
In IEMT talk: Emotional Imprints, Identity Imprints, Internal Relationships etc.
And then you can start looking at other seemingly unrelated behaviours that they might show that there is some pattern hiding underneath.
Hope you liked this and it is thought-provoking and I would love to read your comments, ideas, criticism, thoughts etc.
Mickey Berkal
IEMT Trainer from Israel