Healing Through AIP: Insight into EMDR
The Adaptive Information Processing Model (AIP) was developed by Francine Shapiro, the founder of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). AIP is the framework from which EMDR was born. AIP provides an explanation for the theory and principles involved in psychotherapy treatment, while also serving as an explanation for how personality and pathology develops. This model takes into account how normal memory is stored and integrated into our experience, and can be used as beneficial information for future situations. However, traumatic memory is processed much differently. With traumatic memory, the information processing system does not function properly, due to the overwhelming effect that trauma has on the nervous system. AIP provides a trauma-informed way to further understand how we come to struggle in various facets of life following experiences of trauma.
Understanding AIP’s view of trauma
When we experience something that overwhelms our nervous systems capacity to regulate and return to homeostasis, we call this trauma. There are a lot of thoughts and opinions about what makes an experience traumatic. What neuroscience and the AIP model shows us is that trauma creates chaos in our nervous system, marked by increased cortisol, adrenaline, changes in neurotransmitter function and other physiological imbalances. Our adaptive information processing system becomes overwhelmed by trauma which can take the form of a single event or a series of events over time. What then happens, is that our brain cannot process and integrate the information properly, so the aspects of the event are locked in time with the disturbing and dysregulated bodily sensations. This information becomes stuck in the past but relived in the present when triggers associated with the experience are present. This is when individuals might experience disturbances like flashbacks, nightmares, intrusive thoughts and images, emotional overwhelm, and other traumatic symptoms.
What is AIP, really?
AIP rests on the belief that we all have the capacity to heal and that our brains and bodies want to innately move towards a state of mental well-being. If working optimally, our information processing system allows us to respond to emotionally disturbing situations through the use of internal and external resources that help us return to a sense of balance, safety and calm. The information processing system can become blocked due to the effects of trauma, despite attempts to complete processing and come to a resolution. Through modalities such as EMDR therapy, these blocks can be removed so that processing can resume and new adaptive information can be accessed and integrated. This creates an environment where traumatic material can truly feel over and in the past. The AIP model measures this adaptive information processing by noting any positive changes in thought, image, emotion and sensation.
How does EMDR promote healing through the lens of the AIP Model?
EMDR works to help resolve and reprocess traumatic material by utilizing bilateral stimulation which lights up both hemispheres of the brain. Bilateral stimulation is thought to be effective because of how it can tax our working memory, elicit the orienting reflex, turn on the parasympathetic response, and create a similar, if not the same process that occurs during REM sleep. By simultaneously focusing on bilateral stimulation while bringing traumatic material to mind, dual attention occurs which has been shown to decrease the intensity and emotional quality of imagery related to trauma. In essence, bilateral stimulation allows stuck information processing to resume and move forward toward an adaptive resolution. Through the lens of the AIP model, EMDR also promotes healing through reprocessing of memories in a way that discards unhelpful or harmful information about an event (E.g. negative beliefs of self) and keeps the newer, more positive information that has naturally arisen.
The AIP model helps us to understand how and why EMDR therapy works and is so effective in the treatment of trauma. Through this AIP lens, we know that when we experience trauma, the experience(s) gets locked in our nervous systems and with it; the original images, sensory components, thoughts and emotions are stored. This creates an environment within our body that often feels unsafe and disturbing when triggers remind us of the trauma that is still alive and charged in our bodies. EMDR therapy works to reprocess these disturbing experiences so that the aspects of the event can be integrated into memory and properly stored in the past, no longer keeping us stuck in the original trauma.
Your Questions Answered
What is the Adaptive Information Processing Model (AIP)?
The Adaptive Information Processing Model (AIP) is a framework developed by Francine Shapiro, which serves as the foundation for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. It provides an explanation for the principles involved in psychotherapy treatment and how personality and pathology develop, focusing on how normal and traumatic memories are processed and integrated into our experiences.
How does AIP explain the processing of traumatic memories?
AIP explains that traumatic memories are processed differently than normal memories due to the overwhelming effect that trauma has on the nervous system. When trauma occurs, the information processing system does not function properly, causing aspects of the traumatic event to be locked in time with disturbing and dysregulated bodily sensations. These unprocessed memories can be triggered in the present, leading to symptoms like flashbacks, nightmares, and emotional overwhelm.
How does the AIP model contribute to the effectiveness of EMDR therapy?
The AIP model is foundational to understanding the effectiveness of EMDR therapy in treating trauma. It posits that our brains and bodies innately move towards mental well-being and that blocks in the information processing system due to trauma can be removed through EMDR therapy. This allows for the reprocessing and integration of traumatic memories, enabling individuals to discard harmful information and retain positive insights, ultimately promoting healing and resolution.
What is bilateral stimulation in EMDR, and why is it important in the context of the AIP model?
Bilateral stimulation in EMDR involves activating both hemispheres of the brain and is crucial for resolving and reprocessing traumatic material. It is believed to be effective as it taxes working memory, elicits the orienting reflex, activates the parasympathetic response, and mimics the process occurring during REM sleep. In the context of the AIP model, bilateral stimulation helps in unblocking the information processing system, allowing stuck information to move toward an adaptive resolution.
How does AIP model measure the adaptive information processing?
The AIP model measures adaptive information processing by observing positive changes in thought, image, emotion, and sensation. It assesses the integration of new adaptive information and the resolution of traumatic material, ensuring that such material feels over and is properly stored in the past, allowing individuals to move beyond their original trauma.
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