Clinical Research Directory

Unlike traditional approaches, the traumatic imagery is not directly targeted in the first session. The intervention begins with the silent repetition of a word or phrase representing the core negative belief associated with the traumatic experience. . During each 1-minute set, bilateral stimulation (synchronized tapping on the shoulders only) is applied, allowing the client to process the traumatic material through spontaneously emerging associations selected by the mind itself. Rather than relying on external direction, the protocol activates internal self-regulation capacities. In this respect, it aims to promote semantic and symbolic reorganization, differing from classical cognitive restructuring or desensitization-based methods. The decision about which aspect of the experience will be processed or desensitized is determined by the client's own mental flow, thereby reinforcing a sense of trust in the mind's capacity despite the traumatic history.

Following initial anamnesis and psychoeducation, clients recounted their trauma and drew a self-selected symbol of the event using their non-dominant hand. Each session involved discussing the memory and updating this symbol to facilitate indirect processing through creative expression.