Collective Reprocessing 101

Jan 4

I’ve been practicing for almost 7 years and if I’ve taken anything from working with hundreds, if not thousands of clients, it’s this:

One size does not fit all.

It doesn’t work for Brandy Mellville’s tees and it sure as hell doesn’t for doing the inner work.

I remember when I did my second weekend intensive for basic EMDR training, I was practicing something called a cognitive interweave with another therapist who was role playing as my client. A cognitive interweave is just a fancy name for when a therapist redirects a client’s thought during bilateral stimulation.

Those that have worked with me know I’m pretty intuitive. Insights come to me randomly and when they do, I go with my guidance system because I trust the information I get is going to move my client in the direction they want to go.

I went with my intuition that day. It worked and moved us where we needed to be. The feedback I got from my facilitator?

I did it wrong because I didn’t do it “by protocol.”

I’m still not sure if I was more outraged that she told me I was wrong or if it was the other colorful things no professional should ever say to someone they are training. Either way, I walked away with a fire that day.

When you tell me I’m wrong or I can’t do something, I become far more motivated to do the thing.

Enter: Collective Reprocessing.

I love the word collective because of the layers it possesses.

On one layer collective refers to different systems operating as a whole. On another it refers to belonging to a whole group of people.

The way healing is supposed to be. Of and for the collective.

A Collective Approach

A friend said one day “we all have it a little right.” I’ve never heard such truer words spoken. My mission when creating Collective Reprocessing was to create a modality for healing that honored all the things that worked (and create space for integration of other practices).

The hallmarks of my approach are as followed:

Bilateral stimulation: bilateral stimulation is an evidence based practice that allows the left and right hemispheres of the brain to communicate between each other, allowing the brain as a whole to reprocess and tap into its innate healing ability.

Memory network systems: the brain has a unique way of storing memories. Accessing network systems allows us to see what previous experiences are influencing our present day belief systems.

Reprocessing: From every experience in life we take away a belief of self. Sometimes these beliefs aren’t accurate and sometimes they aren’t kind either. Reprocessing allows us to process the experience/memory again and in doing so take away a more adaptive belief system.

Energy work: I didn’t learn about energy in school and I will scream from the rooftops that this component is equally as important, if not more important, than the rest. Every organ and cell in our body has its own energy field. Our heart actually produces the greatest electric field in the body, 60x greater than that of the brain. Emotions themselves are energy too. Therefore, any experience we have in life that elicits an emotional response, impacts the energetic field of our body as well.

Chakra: Chakras originated in India between 1500 and 500 BC in the oldest text called the Vedas. Chakras are energy bundles located in the spine and their balance is directly connected to the health of one’s physical body, mind and emotional well-being.

The Shift Into Healing

Our brain and body have innate abilities that allow for healing. Through the hallmarks of Collective Reprocessing, we tap into that natural wisdom.

In my 7+ years of practice, I’m continuously disheartened by the number of health professionals that practice management versus healing. Management is a pharmaceutical agenda. It comes with a belief that you are not enough or able to identify, heal, and move past the things in life that are causing you distress. This is in no way to say medications aren’t a helpful option in doing the work, rather it’s a call for the helping profession to teach and empower individuals to come home to themselves and learn how to be their best healers.

Everything we need is already inside of us. It’s our job to connect to that.