Early Intervention with RIM After a TraumatizingEvent: 3 Case Studies
Lotte Waidtløw Vesterli
Abstract
On February 14-15, 2015 three separate terrorist shootings occurred in Copenhagen, Denmark. Anti-Semitic fears were triggered and the author of this paper Vesterli offered Pro Bono RIM sessions via a Jewish organization. Two people responded with interest; their stories are shared in this paper. The third case study is of a woman who had childhood trauma and was diagnosed with PTSD. She was recently triggered by the death of her dad.
After a review of the literature on trauma and PTSD, Vesterli answers the overall question: Are there long-lasting benefits to treating people with Regenerating Images in Memory (RIM) soon after exposure to a traumatic event?
Findings:
Case #1 experienced severe cognitive symptoms following her indirect involvement with the Copenhagen shootings. She did not have childhood trauma and after one RIM session, she showed profound recovery of her cognition. See pre and post scores in the full paper. At the follow-up she stated, “I am now aware that if anything comes up it is important to deal with it and I will reach out for support.”
Case #2 was indirectly involved with the Copenhagen shootings. It triggered hidden emotional from earlier events. After two RIM sessions her symptoms of low energy, irritation/anger, crying often, feeling heavy block, sensitivity to noise including music, unable to drive, insomnia, lack of concentration/short-term memory were back to “almost normal.”
Case #3 had preexisting PTSD. The death of her father had precipitated a significant increase in what she calls “reactions” from severity 1 (little) -10 (total black out). This woman had 4 RIM sessions over 18 days time. The number of reactions/day decreased from 25.37 to 1.59. Further, she reported that the way she copes has changed. She is now able to breath and be present in the situation, which has helped her bounce back more quickly. This shift is having a very positive impact on her family.
These findings confirm similar results showing trauma is cumulative and for those who are vulnerable because of childhood trauma, exposure to images of trauma can trigger severe symptoms of PTSD. Regenerating Images in Memory (RIM) was applied to re-do emotional memory of childhood and current traumatic experiences resulting in significant reduction of symptoms in all three case studies.
