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Roland Evans

Inner Life Therapy and Coaching

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EMDR Self-Beliefs Prompts

These are questions and prompts to explore the traumatic incident and the beliefs and assumptions a client has about him/herself.

Trauma History

    • “Tell me what problem or situation you’d like to address?”
    • “Tell me a little more about it.”
    • “Who was involved?”
    • “When did it start?”
    • “When does it happen?”
    • “What is it about it that’s upsetting to you?”

Present Triggers

    • “Tell me about a recent situation when this happened?”
    • “What represents the worst part of this situation? (This could be represented by a picture, sound, smell, emotion, sensation, etc.)
    • “As you think of that situation, what are you noticing in your body?”

Negative Core Belief

    • “As you think of that incident and what you are feeling in your body, what words best describe your negative belief about yourself?”

Touchstone Events (earliest trauma)

    • “When was the earliest time you felt that way?”
    • “Focus on the sensations you are experiencing and allow yourself to float back (or scan back) to an earlier time when you experienced that. What memory comes up?”
    • “Any earlier?”
    • “Any situations as a child with either of your parents, your siblings, your school?”

CAUTION: Repeated eliciting of strong emotions and physical sensations may over-access and activate memory networks and flood the client.

Positive Cognition 

    • “As you think of the earliest (or worst) incident, how would you like to think about yourself?”
    • “As you think of your present problem, tell me some times when something like that may happen in the future?
    • “How would you like to see yourself handling these situations?”

From Roland’s Blog …

17: Dublin

Surface and Depths: Introduction

1: Surface & Depth – An Encounter with Death



Roland Evans, Psychotherapist • 303-998-1090 • roland@roland-evans.com • 948 North Street, Suite #5, Boulder, CO 80304