The Rewind Technique

The Rewind Technique is mainly used to help with PTSD, trauma and phobias. However, it can also be useful for other difficulties where a past experience still creates a strong emotional response in the present.

For many years, some approaches to trauma and phobias have involved going back through the experience in detail. For someone who has experienced abuse, a horrific event or a severe phobia, talking through everything can feel extremely difficult.

One of the things I like about the Rewind Technique is that I don’t need to know all the details of what happened to you. If there are things you don’t want to talk about, you don’t have to tell me. We can simply use a code word or phrase, such as “the kitchen memory”, so that you know what we’re referring to without having to describe the event.

Why Can Trauma Still Feel So Real?

Normally, our memories become part of our past. We can remember what happened, but we also know that it isn’t happening now.

Traumatic memories can sometimes feel very different. The brain’s threat system may continue to react to reminders of the event as though danger is still present. This can contribute to symptoms such as anxiety, panic, flashbacks or strong emotional and physical reactions.

Our brains are incredibly good at learning and making pattern matches. This ability helps to protect us. However, sometimes the brain can make a connection between something happening now and something frightening that happened in the past.

A sound, smell, place, person or situation may then trigger the same fight-or-flight response, even though you are actually safe.

That is why a traumatic memory from many years ago can sometimes still feel incredibly recent.

Rewind Technique for PTSD, trauma and phobias

How Does the Rewind Technique Work?

During the Rewind Technique, I first help you become calm and deeply relaxed using hypnosis.

Rather than asking you to emotionally relive the experience, the technique uses dissociation. This allows you to imagine observing the memory from a safe distance instead of feeling as though you are back inside the event.

We then work with the memory in a very particular way, including mentally moving backwards and forwards through it. The aim is to help your brain process the memory differently and reduce the emotional response attached to it.

The memory itself isn’t erased. You can still know what happened. However, the aim is for your mind and body to recognise that the event belongs in the past and is not happening now.

For many people, that change can make the memory feel less immediate, less threatening and easier to think about.

What Have I Used the Rewind Technique For?

I’ve used the Rewind Technique with clients in many different situations over the years.

These have included a clown phobia, driving phobia, bridge phobia and a fear of water involving jacuzzis, swimming pools and the sea. I’ve also used variations of the technique when working with traumatic memories and difficult experiences.

I’ve even adapted the approach when working with children.

I’ve worked with people where grief or loss still felt incredibly recent many years later. For example, one person felt as though losing their nanna had happened very recently, even though it had actually been 15 years. I’ve also worked with someone who was still deeply affected by their dad’s death 14 years later.

Every person’s situation is different, which is why I always look at the individual rather than simply the label or problem.

Rewind Technique for PTSD and Phobias

The aim isn’t to make you forget what happened. Instead, the Rewind Technique can help reduce the emotional intensity surrounding a memory or trigger.

For someone experiencing a phobia, this may mean that something which previously triggered an immediate fear response begins to feel much less threatening.

For someone affected by trauma or PTSD, it may help the memory feel more like something that happened then, rather than something the mind and body need to keep responding to now.

Some people notice significant changes quite quickly, while others may need additional therapeutic work. There is no need to promise yourself a particular result or timeframe. We simply work with what your mind needs.

Could the Rewind Technique Help You?

If a traumatic experience, phobia or difficult memory is still affecting your life, we can talk about whether the Rewind Technique may be appropriate for you.

You don’t need to decide anything before speaking to me. Your initial consultation gives us an opportunity to talk about what you’re experiencing and what you’d like to change.

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