A new paradigm for PTSD treatment: Emotional Transformation Therapy.(posttraumatic stress disorder)

Abstract

Many mental health professionals have identified deficits in conventional psychotherapy for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and have called for better methods (Fisher, 2004; Van Der Kolk, 2002). This article proposes resolutions to the following issues in the treatment of PTSD. (1) Are abreactive "retraumatizations" necessary? (2) How can dissociative experiences be efficiently accessed and integrated? (3) What are effective ways to deal with speechlessness in unresolved trauma? (4) How can physical symptoms or "body memories" be resolved efficiently? This article proposes a new paradigm in the treatment of PTSD, Emotional Transformation Therapy (ETT), that addresses these difficult issues (Vazquez, 2004).

Key Words: posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Emotional Transformation Therapy[TM] (ETT), body memories, psychotherapy, dissociation Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was first officially recognized as a psychiatric condition in 1980 by the American Psychiatric Association; today it could potentially be the most frequently occurring psychiatric condition if accompanying dissociation did not block identification of its presence. Aspects of PTSD have been so treatment-resistant that many alternative forms of treatment have emerged to either augment conventional talk therapy or replace it altogether. Everything from hypnosis to psychiatric medication to eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) has been used for PTSD. Emotional transformation therapy (ETT) represents a movement from biochemical approaches to a biophysics approach that incorporates some conventional methods along with powerful innovations.

All Traumas Are Not Alike

There are numerous conditions that fit the criteria for the diagnosis of PTSD, but these conditions are strikingly different in depth, complexity, and intensity. Therefore, PTSD treatment varies enormously regarding the length of time to completion, the amount of unresolved emotion existing, and the scope of symptoms addressed. Since appropriate treatment is somewhat dependent upon accurate diagnosis, it would be valuable to differentiate the distinct patterns of PTSD.

For example, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1994, p. 427-428) describes features of a singular psychological trauma, but in actual practice, people report multiple psychological traumas, repetitions of the same type of psychological trauma that reinforces the effect, and vicarious traumas, etc (Salston, 2003; Jenkins & Baird, 2002). Moreover, modifiers such as the degree of severity, the degree of amnesia, the degree of delayed onset, etc., result in markedly different resistance to treatment. When a person's psychological constitution has been repeatedly stressed before his or her development has produced adequate defenses, it tends to result in compromised defense mechanisms that leave the person more vulnerable to environmental challenges (Polan & Hofer, 1999; Bloch et al., 1956). This factor may account for one person experiencing psychological trauma while another person in the same circumstance may not experience traumatization. While this article will not focus on diagnostic issues, these issues are noteworthy as important factors related to the treatment issues described.

Treatment Methodology

Emotional Transformation Therapy (ETT) is a new form of interactive psychotherapy, developed by this author, which uses powerful techniques of visual brain stimulation to both quickly access dissociated components of targeted symptoms and rapidly relieve emerging affect. This approach utilizes the benefits of light stimulation into the eyes during verbally expressive techniques. A careful monitoring of somatic experiences that are believed to accompany emotional experiences are closely tracked during the processing of issues to hasten the progress. Visual light stimulation has been found to provide its benefits partially through the biochemical mechanisms of the serotonin and norepinephrin neurotransmitter systems (Rao et al., 1992; Brewerton, Berrettini, Numberger, & Linnoila, 1987; O'Rourke, Wurtman, Brzenzinski, Nader, & Chew, 1987). Further scientific research has verified that bright white light treatment is effective for a wide range of psychological disorders and extends far beyond its original use with seasonal affective disorder (Kripke, Mullalney, Klauber, Risch, & Gillin, 1992; Kripke, 1998; Rosenthal, Genhart, Sack, Skiverer, & Wehr, 1987; Kasper, Ruhrmann, & Schuchardt, 1993; Deltito, Moline, Pollak, Martin, & Maremmani, 1991).

Another empirically validated principle of light stimulation used in ETT includes the association between mood states and color sensitivity (Barrick, Taylor, & Correa, 2002; Todd, 1973; Stewart, Gaddy, Byrne, Miller, & Brainard, 1991). Perception of the clarity and color of the viewer's visual environment is known to be related to the perceiver's state of mind. This is such a consistent effect that it has been scientifically documented and is used as a diagnostic indicator in conventional psychological testing (Barrick, 1994; Cohen & Hunter, 1978; Schactel, 1943). A photosensitivity assessment method has been developed from clinical session observations that can be scored and reveals an individualized profile of color sensitivity for each client (Dearing & Singg, 1996). The total scores on each color yield a configuration of scores that characterize psychological patterns. This profile provides indications about the nature of one's unresolved issues, emotional and cognitive themes that may not be conscious to the person, and specific developmental periods in which unresolved affect is dissociated. These findings can be used to either select colors that are most likely to elicit targeted emotions to emerge for processing to completion or palliate emotional distress.

Peripheral eye stimulation is a radical extension of the premise upon which lateralized visual brain stimulation is based (Hugdahl, Franzon, Anderson, & Waldebo, 1983; Schiffer, 1997; Schiller, Anderson, & Teicher, 1997; Schiffer, Anderson, Renshaw, Maas, & Teicher, 1998; Wittling & Roschmann, 1993). Lateralized brain stimulation is based on the principle that light stimulation of the left visual field affects the right brain hemisphere and light stimulation of the left visual field affects the right brain hemisphere (Schiffer, 1998). While this concept is accurate to some extent, it includes a very limited portion of the potential of visual field stimulation, and its bilateral explanation does not account for brain activity necessary for stimulating the other portions of the visual field. Peripheral eye stimulation can access a huge number of specific neural networks of information one at a time by utilizing eye positions throughout a 360[degrees] range, not just right and left visual fields. Peripheral eye stimulation can pinpoint each aspect of a psychological issue. Through this means, one can titrate aspects of a traumatic experience one component at a time, which can reduce flooding of emotions. This precision allows therapists the ability to locate a specific psychological state to access relevant implicit memory, integrate distress of one state with other more constructive states for relief of emotional distress, access distinct states possessing positive resources, and reduce the magnitude of an emotional intensity.

In addition to the benefits of light stimulation, ETT uses "entrainment" or "photic driving" for the purpose of eliciting specific brainwave states conducive for each therapeutic purpose. Entrainment occurs when a pulsing light source emitted into the eyes elicits a predominant brainwave state that quickly matches the rate of the pulsing light (Glicksohn, 1986; Montagu, 1967; Vogel, Broverman, Klaiber, & Kun, 1969; Takigawa, 1988). The concept of eliciting certain brainwave states to relieve specific psychological conditions is the basic premise upon which EEG biofeedback (neurotherapy) is based. Unlike neurotherapy, …