Healing Branches: How to Really Mix It Up in 6 Visual Aids

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The healing branches are key to opening up more neuropathways. An overview of each branch and what they mean is covered in this article. Now I’ll show you how we can really mix it up. Using my series of articles on flashback management, (with links) you will see how it all comes together. Remember, there is no size fits all where trauma is concerned. Not all traumas will require the same branches. But the key to gaining control over the emotional overwhelm is opening those pathways. If you can be mindful of the branches, you can find ways to use them for yourself.

This is from my article on Somatic Work and how “exercise therapy” can go a long way in managing flashbacks. When we gently get in tune with our trauma and ask it what it wants, we’re using our imagination. Honoring whatever our trauma wants incorporates structure. When using our bodies to both honor and stay present for the trauma, the somatic work is acting with the imagination.

Healing Branches: The More We Use, the More We Master

This one is from Confrontation Letter and Empty Chair: How to Mix it Up for Closure. The healing branches are lit up with so many pathways, it looks like a Christmas tree. This was what happened when I created my Father’s Day rap. I actually mastered the rage flashbacks at my father. Thanks to the validation and clarity of EMDR, I saw my father for what he was the whole time. Unfortunately, it left me with overwhelming rage at him for over a year until I got creative. Now, when I remember my father, it’s with a low-key resentment. What a relief!

I took the concept of the confrontation letter and rhymed it. Poetry is structured verse and it goes without saying that it’s the written word. I used my imagination to tell him off by acknowledging him as an unreliable source of information. “You’re a coward! Traitor! Spineless Enabler! So busy loving you dearly, that I never saw you clearly.” (And that was just the chorus!) Doing so helped overthrow the negative cognitions he had given me in favor of positive ones. “And to him I am superior” as I ended my rap.

Then I added music and it became a real number. I performed it on video, so in other words, I used theater as I verbally rapped, which also gave me something to look at (visual) and listen to (auditory). I also managed to squeeze in my (amateurish) kickboxing in a segment of the performance, which amplified somatic work. Art is circled instead of highlighted here. While I did take screenshots and turn them into a collage in my bullet journal, it was more “icing on the cake” than a necessity for calming the rage flashbacks at my father.

The Branches of Creativity

This is from Art and Musical EMDR: How to Use Them for Grounding. When we are working with art and music, we are giving ourselves something to look at (visual) and something to listen to (auditory). I showed two examples of how we can use art to work with positive cognitions. Musical EMDR is a structured playlist. Music is rocket fuel for the imagination.
This represents part 1 of Unlock Your Inner Thespian. It covers writing a script about your trauma while visualizing the stage (theater). Hence, why both branches are circled instead of highlighted, because you’re relying on your imagination. Not unlike poetry, writing a script, especially for the stage, comes with its own unique structure. Visualizing your trauma performed in front of a live audience while you’re writing your script is simultaneously turning the negative cognitions into positive ones. I can’t explain how or why it works with our cognitions, except I can confirm from my own experiences that it does.
This represents Part 2 of Unlock Your Inner Thespian. This concerns how to perform your script and ways to practice theater inside the comfort and privacy of your home. It’s everything theater, the most underappreciated branch of creativity. Theater is using your body (somatic work) while verbally expressing your script (structure). You’re relying on your imagination to get into character.

The circled branches represent the options on where you can go from performing. They’re entirely optional. When you record your performance, you’re giving yourself something to watch (visual) and something to listen to (auditory). If you record yourself for screenshots, you can turn it into empowering artwork. All how-to’s covered in the aforementioned article.

A creative checklist just for you. Can you think of ways you can open up your own pathways? How will you highlight your healing branches?
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