Rewind Technique
The rewind technique was first developed around forty years ago by Richard Bandler within the field of Neuro Linguistic Programming(NLP). It has been used with great success over the years and has been most noteworthy in the areas of PTSD, trauma, anxiety and phobia. All Human Givens Therapists are fully trained to use the technique and do so regularly. Developed further and fine-tuned by Joe Griffin and Ivan Tyrell, the founders of Human Givens therapy, the rewind technique is one of the most important tools in the repertoire of treatments to help our clients. This is how it works:
Together we explore the range of symptoms which have been causing you concern and then we can look at when the symptoms first began. You may feel agitated or a little anxious at this time and this is perfectly normal. We need this to happen to identify the cause and move on to the following stage.
Next I will show you how to calm down and help you to relax fully which is a pleasant experience and when you feel calm I will ask you to tell me about what happened to you and you can give me as much or as little information as you feel happy with. At this point I will ask you to imagine a special place where you would like to visit in your imagination. Often it is a place in nature such as a woodland walk or a beach and it can be anywhere you wish.
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After inviting you to relax you may want to close your eyes. I will count from 1 to 20 and with each out breath you will become more and more relaxed. When you are fully relaxed you can visit your special place using your imagination and after a while of enjoying wandering around I will ask you to find a place to sit and rest and explain that in front of you appears a small portable television and next to it is a remote control and a DVD. On the DVD are all the memories we have spoken about. You will then put the DVD in the recorder and go back and sit down.
Then I will ask you to imagine floating out of your body and around to the back of the TV so you are watching you watching the TV. The DVD will then play the memories and you will watch them. They begin at a time before the unpleasant memory began and end when the memory is over. Sometimes the unfortunate memories may be over a period of time, even years. We can play all this on the DVD.
Once you have played the recording I will ask you to nod your head when you are at the end. Then I will ask you to float back into your body. We will begin at the end of the DVD and then in your imagination you will replay the memory backwards. When you get to the beginning I will ask you to nod. You will then pick up the remote control and press fast forward and the memories will play fast all the way through until the end and you will nod your head. Then I will ask you to put the remote down and imagine seeing the images racing backwards on the screen very fast. Then you will pick up the remote and go fast forward again to the end. We will keep repeating this process backwards and forwards for a number of times and soon the images may appear blurry or disjointed and eventually they will fade.
I will ask you if you want to play the recording any further times and you will tell me with a nod. When you are ready and do not need to see the recording anymore I will ask you to press eject and take the DVD out of the recorder and dispose of it in any way you choose. I will ask you to return to enjoying your surroundings and we will then rehearse what your new life will look like without the intrusive thoughts then I will count you back up to wakefulness feeling alert and refreshed and ready to carry on your day.
Generally one rewind is all you should need to neutralize the memories. Sometimes we may do another at a separate session if a something else pops up. This is something we can work together on. There are some great stories about the success of the rewind technique on the HGI website under their articles section which you can find here https://www.hgi.org.uk/resources/delve-our-extensive-library/anxiety-ptsd-and-trauma/ptsd-why-some-techniques-treating-it
