Video 030 Four Field Technique

Use this solution 

With children/young people who might not have the verbal and self-awareness skills required to work with the standard protocol or who would be unable to tolerate the standard EMDR procedure; also if, for example, two siblings have experienced an identical traumatic event.  The technique helps to capture a child’s attention and establish support while slowly introducing them to the memories to be re-processed.

The Shapiro Library’s reference to Four Field technique also suggests the application of this technique for adults with complex trauma, drug addiction, etc. who would not be able to tolerate the exhausting confrontation with the standard procedure.

Originator

The Four-Field-Technique and its use with individuals is an application of a group protocol originally developed by Jarero et al.  This mirrors the 8 phases of the standard EMDR protocol.  See Wrap up.

Video production

Matthew Davies Media Ltd, Llanidloes, Powys.
www.matthewmedia.com

What this covers

Case of a child – Grace/Seren - injured in a horse riding accident. Shows the use of the Four Field Technique that asks the client to make use of drawings - a safe place, initial target and what subsequently arises during the Bilateral Stimulation phase. Aide mémoire describes option for installing a positive cognition for children who are mature enough to handle this phase.

How long

12.47 minutes.

Related Videos

See Video 031.

Go to ‘Take-away’?

For Aide-mémoire for use in a client session and for references to protocols.


Take-Away Section

+ Wrap up

+ Aide-mémoire

You can copy and paste this text into a Word document, and can edit it, adding any additional text you might find helpful.

  1. Make sure you have a variety of drawing instruments – pens, pencils, etc. available, and prepare an appropriate piece of paper divided into four quarters by folding it twice, once vertically and once horizontally.
  2. Introduce the idea of butterfly taps and explain what it does. Demonstrate how to do this with the hands linked by the thumbs, and with the middle fingers touching the chest just below the collarbone.
  3. Encourage the child to draw a picture of a safe place on a new separate piece of paper.
  4. Have the child look at the drawing and do butterfly taps to install their safe place and enhance the feeling of safety. Set the drawing aside.
  5. Check the child is grounded/calm in the therapy room before moving to processing. If not, do more tapping and check again.
  6. Go back to the folded paper and ask the child to make a drawing of the worst part of the incident in the top left hand box. Have the child rate the level of distress on a SUDs scale of one to ten. Use a visual scale if you have one. Then instruct the child to do twenty four or so fast butterfly taps until he/she comes up with a new/changed image.
  7. Ask the child to move to the second box (top right hand side) and draw a new picture to represent the new/changed image. Have the child rate the level of distress again. Then repeat the instruction to do butterfly hugs until a new or changed image comes up.
  8. Repeat the process moving to the third box (bottom left hand side). Check the SUDs level. If it is still raised, repeat the process using the fourth box.
  9. If more reprocessing is needed repeat the steps above with a fresh piece of paper until SUDs go to zero.
  10. If the SUDs level is at a zero, the process could be ended at this point after having the child repeat the safe place exercise, as in the video (see reference above to - ‘Next Generation - healing children and families.’). Often, children do not have a positive cognition to install. At this point, it can be helpful to install whatever comes up as positive until it ceases to get stronger or improve.
  11. Depending on the ability of the child, when SUDs fall to zero, continue with the normal eight phase protocol by asking the child to draw how they see themselves in the future. Have them write a word, phrase or sentence that explains what they drew. Then instruct them to look at the drawing and what they wrote and do the butterfly hug. You may be able to assess the VOC using a visual scale from one to seven, though it is asking quite a lot of a child to hold the target image in mind plus the PC and evaluate ‘how they feel now in the present’.
  12. Do a body scan, if possible, but recognise that many children will not be able to hold an image, a PC, and scan their body for tension. One approach is to ask, ‘How does your body feel now?’ and install any nice sensation. If there is a disturbing feeling go back to having the child notice the feeling and do butterfly hugs until it resolves.