Neurobiology has become a popular theme in psychotherapy and the memory reconsolidation process is a valuable aspect of applying it with your clients. Today, we offer a bit of an overview of this process. If you’d like to go in-depth on this topic, start with our free webinar with Jules Taylor Shore to understand better about how memory reconsolidation helps anxiety. The original webinar aired with more than 4,000 registrants!
How to use the Memory Reconsolidation Process in Psychotherapy
Here’s why memory reconsolidation is important, and some popular techniques for using memory consolidation with psychology clients:
Memory reconsolidation in psychology is a powerful tool that therapists can use to help clients overcome deep-seated emotional patterns and traumatic memories. By understanding the process of memory reconsolidation and using specific techniques, therapists can help clients achieve lasting change and improve their overall well-being.
Join Juliane Taylor Shore for a FREE 90-minute webinar
Experiential Therapy Techniques: A Neurobiological Approach to Self-Compassion Therapy
During the webinar, you will learn:
A practice to increase self-compassion towards yourself as you do your work so you can both embody and benefit from self-acceptance.
The neurobiological difference between empathy and compassion so you keep use them judiciously in practice.
How to set up experiential practices so clients can discover and experience self-compassion.
The 3 Steps to the Memory Reconsolidation Process
1. Awareness: Help clients become more aware of their emotional states and notice subjective mismatches.
Therapists wanting to incorporate memory reconsolidation into psychotherapy sessions can help clients become more aware of their emotional states by asking open-ended questions and using active listening skills. By doing this, clients can recognize when they are experiencing a subjective mismatch, which occurs when their current experience does not match their subconscious expectations or beliefs. This awareness can lead to a greater understanding of the underlying beliefs and memories that contribute to emotional patterns.
2. Presence: Encourage clients to stay present with their emotions and sensations.
Therapists can encourage clients to stay present with their emotions and sensations by teaching their psychology clients how to stay present with what arises. By staying present with uncomfortable emotions, clients can explore them in a safe and supportive environment. This exploration can lead to accessing the memories and beliefs that underlie their emotional patterns and allow them to reconsolidate these memories in a way that is more aligned with their current reality.
3. Deepening: Use EMDR, somatic experiencing, and mindfulness-based interventions.
Therapists can use techniques such as EMDR, somatic experiencing, and mindfulness-based interventions to facilitate memory reconsolidation.
- EMDR uses eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation to help clients process traumatic memories.
- Somatic experiencing is a body-centered therapy that helps clients access and release trauma held in the body.
- Mindfulness-based interventions such as mindfulness meditation or body scan exercises can help clients stay present with their emotions and sensations, develop a greater sense of self-awareness, and reconsolidate their memories in a way that is more aligned with their current reality.
The Benefits of Memory Reconsolidation
Incorporating memory reconsolidation techniques into therapy sessions can lead to lasting change and improved well-being for clients. By helping clients reconsolidate their memories and beliefs in a way that is more aligned with their current reality, therapists can help clients overcome deep-seated emotional patterns and traumatic memories, leading to a more fulfilling life.
[Watch the Replay Now] Memory Reconsolidation for Anxiety with Jules Taylor Shore
Juliane Taylor Shore, LPC, LMFT, SEP (AKA Jules) is a therapist and trainer of therapists in Austin, Texas. She specializes in applying Interpersonal Neurobiology to the healing of trauma and the creation of relational health with clients she sees. She uses her knowledge of the brain and the implicit mind to go decisively to the root of the issue with gentleness and depth.
Jules has been a specialist in trauma recovery and in couples counseling for 12 years and loves to work experientially because that is how to meet and invite shifts in the implicit mind. She wants to help people find the love, connection, and grace they have always longed for, both in themselves and with each other.
