The Flash Technique Explained: Transforming Upsetting Memories That Drive Anxiety and Low Self-esteem
Disturbing life events and trauma can lead to distressing memories that are difficult to process and overcome. The Flash Technique is an effective intervention that assists clients in processing these memories without consciously engaging with them. It is also beneficial for treating a range of issues including anxiety, a strong negative inner critic, and destructive patterns getting in the way of healthy relationships.
If you are looking for anxiety therapy in San Francisco, then you should know about this emerging and effective technique.
What is the Flash Technique?
This technique was developed to complement EMDR, which is a specialized technique used to resolve trauma. Through Flash Technique training, therapists can help clients process memories that are too distressing and intense to relive.
Who Is a Good Candidate for This Therapy?
The Flash Technique can benefit anyone who:
Has experienced intense or severe trauma
Has anxiety caused by distressing memories that may not be "traumatic" but still have an emotional impact
Tends to become easily overwhelmed
Has negative self-talk
This therapy is helpful for both children and adults.
How Does the Flash Technique Work?
The Flash Technique is minimally intrusive and can often be completed in as little as fifteen minutes. Here’s what happens during the process:
The client identifies a target memory that is causing present-day symptoms such as fear, shame, or anxiety.
The client is asked to rate the disturbance level of the memory on a scale of 0-10.
Next, the client collaborates with the therapist to identify a Positive Engaging Focus (PEF), which serves as a distraction from the target memory. A PEF allows the client to tune into something that brings a positive, restorative emotion–examples include a positive memory, a place, or sense of accomplishment–that we can feel down into our bodies, not just thinking about it in our heads.
Examples of PEFs are describing an activity you enjoy, pets, remembering a time when you laughed or played really hard, or playing a favorite song. This can be an enjoyable experience with your therapist, because they can feel vicarious joy by listening to you talk about a subject that matters to you. Hearing my clients talk about their cute dog or cat is a true delight!
Bilateral stimulation (BLS), which involves stimulating both hemispheres of the brain through tapping or eye movements, is then used to unconsciously reprocess the difficult target memory. When we go through something traumatic, the memory can remain unprocessed and feel 'frozen' in a way that keeps causing distress. BLS can ease lingering anxiety and emotional pain of past experiences.
While interacting with a PEF and using bilateral stimulation, the client is periodically instructed to disrupt their focus by blinking three to five times when the therapist says “Flash.”
Clients then take a break and are asked to check in with the target memory to see if it’s changed at all. Some clients report that the memory seems further away, less clear, less upsetting, or their body can feel more relaxed. They’ll do a few rounds of this until the disturbance level is at a 0.
Why is the Flash Technique Effective?
The exact reason why the Flash Technique is effective is not completely understood. However, there are a few potential theories for why it works:
● Subliminal processing - Because clients aren't focusing on difficult memories long enough to be completely conscious of them, they do not experience fear or anxiety during treatment.
● Modified memory reconsolidation - After multiple retrievals, memories are weakened, disrupted and made less intense or distressing than before.
● Client position change - By changing a client's position in a memory from an experiencing position to an observer, the memory becomes something in the past that the client is distant from.
● Interruption of brain processes - Blinking is thought to interrupt some of the processes in the brain. By blinking, you are signaling to your brain that you are working through a difficult memory.
Processing trauma memories using the Flash Technique is straightforward and effective. It can help people of all ages and treat many types of conditions. It is safe, rapid and well-tolerated by clients who want to move past difficult memories or overcome future fears that cause anxiety.
While using Flash in my San Francisco therapy practice, I have witnessed clients gain new and softer perspectives on upsetting interactions they had with family members, decrease current anxiety that is linked to fearful moments that happened during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and let go of negative beliefs about themselves that originated from misattuned parenting they received in childhood. Flash is a therapy technique that I'm thrilled to have in my toolkit for supporting clients.
What is a Flash Technique in EMDR?
This technique was originally intended to work alongside EMDR and is often used to achieve quick results. Flash integrates these memories into the memory system, unburdening the mind and allowing the client to experience less distress when recalling them.
The Flash Technique can also be used as a standalone treatment without EMDR or alongside other treatment modalities like Internal Family Systems (IFS). The IFS therapy model views our minds as composed of different inner “parts”, including parts that hold painful emotions and unprocessed memories in the brain. In my therapy practice, I integrate Flash to assist in the unburdening process of parts of ourselves that are stuck in the past and prevent us from living in the here and now.
A Free Therapy Consultation in San Francisco
Processing difficult memories that are driving your anxiety and low self-esteem can be challenging, especially if you're trying to heal from them on your own. If you're interested in Flash therapy and are looking for an anxiety therapist in San Francisco, you can contact me here or call me at (415) 851-5125 for a free phone consultation.
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