A lot of times, people have fears of addressing difficult memories in therapy because they imagine telling a long painful story and feeling completely anxious and overwhelmed. However, in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, there is less focus on declarative memory (telling your story) and more focus on implicit memory (the impact of the past on your current emotions, body sensations, behaviors, and relationships). Although the past cannot be changed, the impact of the past on the present CAN be changed.
In Sensorimotor Psychotherapy memory work, there is an emphasis on taking your time, going slowly, pacing yourself, and using your coping resources (discussed in earlier videos) to neutralize the effects of your past on your present life (your implicit memories).
In this video, Dr. May will thoroughly explain what implicit memory is and will provide several examples so you will know how to recognize your own implicit memories. She then will take you through exercises to identify resources you can use to manage your implicit memories and bring you back into your "Window of Tolerance."
*All videos to the sensorimotor psychotherapy (SP) series can be found in the "Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Skills and Exercises" playlist at https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwPrhSDQ0V_t1A4J8pzZxaW3jMVBum2n5.
**In addition to SP, this channel contains videos of ALL the Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills, Radically Open DBT skills, Developmental Trauma Adaptive Survival Styles and much more! Please check out the other videos and feel free to SUBSCRIBE.
Key Reference: Ogden, P. & Fisher, J. (2015) Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Interventions for Trauma and Attachment. New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company. https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393706130