In addition to humanistic counselling, I also offer Rewind Therapy (IARTT), a therapeutic treatment for PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), phobias and anxiety.
Rewind Therapy (RT) – The rewind technique is a comfortable and effective treatment that can greatly reduce, and even remove, traumatic or phobic symptoms quickly through relaxation and guided imagery, all without even having to talk about the details of the traumatic incident(s) in question.
Rewind Therapy (RT) has become internationally recognised as indispensable in treating PTSD – For many years, severe anxiety-based conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder or phobias were considered only treatable through extensive, painful exposure therapy, and sometimes not at all.
The rewind technique can help reduce, or in some cases remove PTSD symptoms, including:
- flashbacks
- intrusive thoughts or images
- nightmares
- intense distress at real or symbolic reminders of the trauma
- physical sensations such as pain, sweating, nausea, or trembling
Rewind Therapy (RT) – Closure Without Disclosure – Rewind Therapy (RT) was first introduced in the early 1990’s by Dr. David Muss as a new technique for treating PTSD (British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 1991). Rewind Therapy (RT) differs from alternative imaginal exposure therapies because the client does not need to disclose details to the therapist, the treatment becoming known as “Closure Without Disclosure”.
The benefits of non-disclosure include:
- Minimizing the risk of the client being re-traumatized.
- No fear of disclosing sensitive information e.g. In the case of servicemen, for example, about deployment.
- For survivors of rape and sexual abuse the benefit of not having to disclose details of the event to a stranger is self-evident.
How does the rewind technique work?
The key to understanding how the rewind technique works is to understand how both non-threatening memories and traumatic memories are processed. Information from a non-traumatic event will normally be transferred from short-term (working) memory to long-term memory through the hippocampus of the brain.
During a traumatic experience, when the body’s survival mechanism (fight, flight or freeze response) is activated, the presence of stress hormones within the body inhibits the hippocampus from processing the information in the usual way. Therefore, the memory of the traumatic event becomes trapped in short-term memory, causing the person to feel that they are involuntarily re-living the traumatic event in the form of flashbacks, nightmares, repetitive distressing images, or physical sensations. Since the rewind technique is performed whilst in a state of deep relaxation, not in a state of high alert, the body will not produce the same hormones which inhibit the hippocampus from working normally. Therefore, the brain can process the memory of the trauma calmly, transferring it from short-term memory to long term memory.
What happens during the rewind technique?
The rewind technique involves the client being safely guided by the therapist to visualise a cinema screen or television, which the client watches from a distance. Dissociated from the happenings on the screen, the client watches a ‘screening’ of the traumatic memory or event that is affecting them.
At the end of each ‘screening’ the client is guided to imagine ‘rewinding’ the traumatic event back to a safe starting scenario, as if the film was being played backwards. This cycle is repeated several times with each traumatic memory.
How effective is the rewind technique?
Research into the efficacy of the rewind technique on policemen with PTSD reported a marked improvement in clients’ post traumatic symptoms offering enduring results without relapse*.
The rewind technique is a versatile treatment which can be used as a stand-alone treatment for single-event and multiple-event traumas, normally requiring just two to three sessions per single event trauma. The rewind technique can also be integrated effectively within ongoing talking therapy to address traumatic events which may become figural in sessions.
Please contact me for further information how Rewind Therapy can help you.
Mark at Be Well Counselling.
I am a humanistic Gestalt counsellor based in Romsey near Southampton. I am a member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP), and the National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society (NCPS) adhering to the BACP Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions and the NCPS Code of Ethical Practice.
Email : bewellcns@gmail.com
Tel / WhatsApp : 07359 759203
Web : www.be-wellcounselling.co.uk
* Muss, D. C. (1991). A new technique for treating post-traumatic stress disorder. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 30(1), 91–92. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8260.1991.tb00924.x
