Imaginal Nurturing

Imaginal Nurturing was developed by an advanced EMDR clinician who recognized the value of adding an attachment oriented focus to EMDR trauma work. EMDR is very effective at resolving traumatic experiences, such as a wide range of abuse, accidents, disasters, injury, violence, grief, and emotional pain. Attachment work focuses on the aspects of childhood where parents (or caregivers) were unavailable or incapable of meeting the healthy attachment needs (e.g., protection, love, nurture, safety, compassion, validation) that are necessary for a child to evolve into an emotionally mature, adaptable, well-adjusted adult.

Similar to the Developmental Needs Meeting Strategy, Imaginal Nurturing draws on a person's adult resources and utilizes the healing presence of their adult self to connect with, support, and meet unmet childhood needs. The result is healing of attachment deficits, integrating child parts into present time reality, and establishing an internal attachment relationship between a person's adult self and their isolated, traumatized child parts of self. This approach can be particularly helpful for those struggling with anxiety, depression, relationship struggles, addictive and compulsive behaviors, low self-esteem, and difficulties with emotion regulation.

As the name of this therapy method suggests, Imaginal Nurturing uses guided imagery to facilitate healing. Benefits of imagery and visualization in the healing process are well documented:

• Havard Medical School research has demonstrated that using imagination can lead to changes in brain anatomy
• Imagery is used in the fields of medicine and performance enhancement (athletes, musicians, etc.)
• Imagining doing an activity engages many of the motor and sensory programs that get activated when you are actually doing that particular activity
• Imagining doing an activity can develop new neural pathways
• Imagery is regularly used in EMDR Therapy

EMDR is a very powerful therapy modality on its own. Imaginal Nurturing does not replace EMDR, but rather works in conjunction with EMDR. The benefit of Imaginal Nurturing is that it helps to make the EMDR healing process more effective and complete.