EMDR FORUM ARCHIVE, 2000
Re:Scientific Jargon vs. reality
Forgot To Include Name · 01/20/03 at 4:07 PM ET
Eye fixation and movement may be ideomotor signals, conditioned stimuli, and "anchors." Certain eye movements (e.g., eye roll) are unconditioned stimuli that may also serve as conditioned stimuli. Eye fixation and movement also reflect a common hypnosis principle of “self-cues.” The re-association of behaviors (e.g., fixation or movement) and stimuli (e.g., memories or environment) with cognitive-affective states is pre-dated by behavioral and hypno-therapy clinical material. Though most clinical populations do not consciously connect their own eye fixation or movement to any altered-state of consciousness, trauma, or emotion. Francine Shapiro now seems to minimize the "eye-movement" (EM) desensitization and emphasizes external (bilateral) stimulation. Though EM may be a key element for understanding the learning/trauma history of some people. Concepts about any behavior (e.g., fixation/movement) eliciting various cognitive-emotional states is on solid ground and has been a viable idea since Descartes represented mind-body interaction with the notion that body positions and activities influence the mind (e.g., cognitive-emotional states). There seems to be clinical significance to the “unspoken” circumstances responsible for the original eye-movement imprints (e.g., fixation/movement), associated behaviors (e.g., immobility/responsiveness), and psychological conditions (e.g., anxiety/calmness). There will most likely be significant differences in efficacy of the EM technique for populations that have different histories related to their eye-movement conditioning. For example, an experimental group of college students with “exam anxiety” with low incidence of previous conditioning related their eye movements, is vastly different than psychotherapy patients with a higher incidence of historical events associated with eye fixation/movements. Many would agree that eye-fixation and movement are indicative of psychological states. Perhaps some of the theory of EMDR and its components such as EM have exceeded empirical support, however, some of EMDR’s popularity may be that it has attempted to systematize a variety of specific symptoms, behaviors, and techniques.
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