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Section 14
Identifying Protective Mechanisms

Question 14 | Test | Table of Contents

In the last section, we discussed how your client with PTSD can use guided relaxation to find a safe place.

In this section, we will discuss how your client can identify nurturing and protective figures to use as an inner resource before beginning the EMDR process.

While we have gone over the basic structure of EMDR in a previous section, I think it would be helpful to add on to the basics and discuss some additional elements that make EMDR more effective. One of these elements is helping your client identify nurturing figures. I have found identifying nurturing figures helpful for clients to use as an inner resource and in assessing for EMDR readiness.

When I began this process with Zach, the military vet mentioned in the previous section, I explained that this figure or these figures could be real or imaginary from his past or present, they could be inner guides, or they could even be animals. I encouraged my clients to think openly about who their nurturing figure could be. Some clients identify a parent, sibling, step-parent, grandparent, nanny, aunt, uncle, other relative, teacher, coach, counselor, doctor, friend, or clergy person as their figure. Others may identify figures from movies, TV, books, historical figures, people from popular culture, or spiritual figures. The figure can come from anywhere.

Occasionally, clients will install their therapist as their nurturer. In this case, I have encouraged clients to identify additional figures to reduce the dependency on me.

Using the adult self as a nurturer:
For clients who have unmet developmental needs, Schmidt (2002) presented setting up the adult self as a nurturer. Schmidt has a protocol in which clients connect with their innate qualities which can include compassion, empathy, courage, confidence, and strength in order to enhance the client’s ego state. The client is asked to formulate a mental image of this part of themselves.

If a client is use to always taking care of himself or herself, I try to help them identify another nurturing figure in addition to this adult self so they are not their only resource.

Zach was used to doing things for himself since he was in the military and in the five years since he has been home. He explained, "In the military I developed this need to never be a burden on anyone. When I returned, I didn’t want help from anyone since I only see it as getting in the other person’s way." Zach was able to identify his innate qualities that are nurturing (he identified his courage, strength, and confidence) and conjured an image of that part of himself that became one of his nurturing figures he could turn to as a resource.

Using animals as nurturers:
When it comes to animals, just like other types of figures, a client may identify with a specific animal they have known such as a pet or a general image that they have of an animal they find nurturing. I have had many clients use a past or present pet (the family cat or dog) as their nurturer because the animal provides the client comfort. Zach identified his dog as a nurturer because he was currently living on his own with the dog and Zach relies on the dog for comfort when he is feeling particularly lonely.

Many clients have found animals that carry the numen of power to be helpful nurturing figures. For example, one young man who was my client said that through his Native American heritage he came to identify and feel a spiritual connection with hawks. He stated that the felt nurtured and protected whenever he saw them. During a session when we were processing a childhood trauma he had gone through, he had his eyes closed and through the window I saw a hawk silently fly by. He said that he felt the presence of a hawk and that gave him strength to process his traumatic event.

The Nurturing Figure:
Once clients have found their figure or figures, I ask them to close their eyes and bring up the image of the figure. When I went through this process with Zach, I stated, "See your dog in his nurturing aspect. When you see him nurturing you, let me know." I then being using bilateral stimulation (BLS) to help Zach feel the image more deeply.

Difficulties Finding a Nurturing Figure:
While Zach was able to eventually identify his dog as a nurturing figure, I have found that clients like Zach or clients with a history of neglect and poor nurturing have difficulties finding a figure. I often have clients remember times when they were able to love and nurture another person or even a pet. With this exercise, my goal is to guide my clients in identifying the nurturing qualities within themselves that they can then install and bring in for themselves if necessary.

I went through this process with Zach and began by asking "Can you remember a time when you held or comforted your niece?" When he said he could I asked him, "Recalling a memory of you doing that, what is it that you see?" Zach responded, "My niece is cuddled in my lap and we are in a rocking chair and I am rocking her to sleep." I then asked Zach to identify the feelings of love and nurturing in that moment and asked him to focus on that feeling while I used BLS (tapping on his knees) to enhance the feeling.

In this case, the adult self could be the nurturing figure that your client chooses to use.

Protector Figures:

Similar to nurturing figures, protecting figures are real or imagined people or animals that the client identifies as able to protect him or her. Once the client identifies his or her protector figure, BLS can be used to strengthen the memories of positive interactions with his or her identified protector figure. Clients can use the same figures as both protectors and nurturers.

Using the ideas from Schmidt discussed above on how to use the adult self as a nurturer, the same process can be used to identify the adult self as a protector. Schmidt asked clients to become aware of skills and traits that she states the client already has. She states the names of the traits (protective, courageous, strong, logical, confident, grounded) and gives the client time to feel the traits inside them. She then guides the client into identifying a single sense of self that includes all these traits and strengthens the image through BLS. Again, I want to suggest that a client installs another figure as backup if they use the adult self as a protective figure.

In this section, we discussed how your client can identify nurturing and protective figures to use as an inner resource before beginning the EMDR process. We discussed how the adult self and animals can be used as nurturers or protectors. When clients are unable to identify a nurturing figure, one suggestion is to have clients remember times when they were able to love and nurture another person or even a pet in order to identify the nurturing qualities within themselves that they can then install and bring in for themselves if necessary.

Clients can identify their adult self as a nurturer or protector and in order to do this we discussed the technique discussed by Schmidt. Schmidt asked clients to become aware of skills and traits that she states the client already has. She states the names of the traits and gives the client time to feel the traits inside them. She then guides the client into identifying a single sense of self that includes all these traits and strengthens the image through BLS.

In the next section we will discuss strategies for your client to come up with resources that focus on helping clients with their life difficulties, blocking beliefs, and maladaptive schemas.

Parnell 91-94
Reviewed 2023

Update
Protective Effects of Pioglitazone on Cognitive Impairment and the Underlying Mechanisms: A Review of Literature

Alhowail, A., Alsikhan, R., Alsaud, M., Aldubayan, M., & Rabbani, S. I. (2022). Protective Effects of Pioglitazone on Cognitive Impairment and the Underlying Mechanisms: A Review of Literature. Drug design, development and therapy, 16, 2919–2931. https://doi.org/10.2147/DDDT.S367229


Peer-Reviewed Journal Article References:
Elbogen, E. B., Johnson, S. C., Newton, V. M., Timko, C., Vasterling, J. J., Van Male, L. M., Wagner, H. R., & Beckham, J. C. (2014). Protective mechanisms and prevention of violence and aggression in veterans. Psychological Services, 11(2), 220–228. 

Hicks, T. A., Bountress, K. E., Resnick, H. S., Ruggiero, K. J., & Amstadter, A. B. (2020). Caregiver support buffers posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms following a natural disaster in relation to binge drinking. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.

Smith-Osborne, A., & Felderhoff, B. (2016). Formal and family caregiver protective factors in systems of care: A systematic review with implications toward a resilience model for aging veterans. Traumatology, 22(1), 29–39. 

Stanley, I. H., Rogers, M. L., Hanson, J. E., Gutierrez, P. M., & Joiner, T. E. (2019). PTSD symptom clusters and suicide attempts among high-risk military service members: A three-month prospective investigation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 87(1), 67–78. 

Zhang, J., Ye, C., Sun, H.-J., Zhou, J., Liang, T., Li, Y., & Liu, Q. (2021). The passive state: A protective mechanism for information in working memory tasks. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition.

QUESTION 14
How can clients be guided to identify their adult self as either a nurturing or protective figure? To select and enter your answer go to Test.


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