In phase seven, close, the therapist asks the client to keep a record during the week. The record must document any related material that may arise. It serves to remind the client of the self-calm activities that were mastered in phase two. The closure is used to end the session.
If the target memory was not fully processed in the session, specific instructions and techniques are used to provide containment and ensure security until the next session. This phase occurs at the end of each treatment session, ensuring that clients leave feeling better than they were before. Ideally, the full processing of a traumatic memory will occur in one session, making it easy to close and return to daily life. However, sometimes this is not possible.
In such cases, the therapist will give the client calming techniques and remind them that they are in control, as well as set expectations of what can happen between sessions. Closing is important to finish the processing cycle, for each session and for each larger processed memory, which can take several sessions. The sixth phase of EMDR is the body scan, in which clients are asked to observe their physical response while thinking about the incident and positive cognition, and identify any residual somatic distress. EMDR is an eight-phase treatment method used to help combat traumatic experiences and other mental health disorders.
As a natural result of the EMDR phases, the client's thoughts, feelings and behavior are indicators of emotional health and resolution, all without talking in detail or doing the homework used in other therapies. Eye movements comprise only a small part of a larger process that EMDR experts, such as Francine Shapiro, have divided into eight different phases. The closure phase of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR) occurs every time the therapist needs to end a session. In this session, Dr.
Jennifer Sweeton discusses the last two phases of EMDR and provides case examples that illustrate the effectiveness of EMDR with its own customers. All eight phases contribute to the overall effect of EMDR therapy; however, not all phases can be used in an EMDR therapy session. During this phase of EMDR therapy, a positive belief (“You're safe now) can be introduced to help counter negative emotions caused by trauma.
