The Cognitive Interweave: Bridging the Gap

In our last few blogs we have been discussing Phase IV. This is where we let the client's brain 'take over" and lead the way. However, as we all know sometimes our clients experience blocked processing, As a review, some of the "easier" interventions for blocked processing may include:

-Going back to target

-Changing something about the Bilateral stimulation, such as the number of passes; the speed; the direction; the mode of delivery (from eye movement to tapping, for example)

-Shifting focus to a different aspect for example to a thought, an image, an emotion or a sensation
Sometimes, that's not enough. This is when we employ the Cognitive Interweave. I think the best way to describe the purpose of the Cognitive Interweave is:

The cognitive Interweave is a therapist-lead intervention that helps the client to bridge the gap between where they are stuck, and where their brain wants to take them next. Think of a train track - they have journeyed to a point where a piece of the track is missing, Our job is to provide a bridge to get them to their next piece of track. Note that we are not building their next piece of track. We are simply providing the bridge so that they can do so. That is why we want to try to keep it simple. We ask a well-placed question, which gets them thinking, which helps them to get over the gap.

A really good resource is "The Interweave For EMR Therapy Reprocessing" developed by Heide Francine and available on Mentorbooks.com It is a laminated sheet with great interweave suggestions for all kinds of scenarios. Consider adding it to your toolbox!