Stories have been used for millennia as a way to share information, make sense of the things that happen and provide context and meaning. As such, they can be seen as the cornerstone of AIP.
For clients who have experienced war zones, political conflict and the loss of loved ones (through disappearance or death), it is not always the ‘trauma’ which needs to be processed. Sometimes, it is the unfinished endings or the guilt of not being able to protect loved ones. The issues clients are experiencing may be ongoing – hence an ‘active’ target. In some cases, the client may feel lost, isolated and helpless, rather than traumatized. Although there are recent events protocols in EMDR (R-TEP; Preci), sometimes the client cannot ‘tell’ the story of what happened. Sometimes, it is the ‘not knowing’ rather than the known which is most upsetting. In such situations, the use of narratives in EMDR can provide a sense of connection, moving clients from a stance of powerlessness into one where they believe they can effect change, even in active context of ongoing war, political violence and international conflict.