TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE RESOLUTION PROCEDURE

Peter Graham

5 March 1994

The Traumatic Experience Resolution (TER) Procedure is used to help people resolve their unresolved (and therefore incomplete) traumatic experiences. Once fully resolved, such an experience becomes a completed experience for that person and can no longer react upon him/her whenever he/she is reminded of it.

There are two versions of the TER procedure:

(i) 	A version that can be used to help resolve a particular traumatic experience, such as a recent loss, that is holding the person' s attention. This is known as the narrative version of TER, where the incident is a happening usually identified by a brief description of it.

(ii) 	The other version handles specific "items" such as negative feelings, beliefs and attitudes. This is called the thematic version of TER as it focuses on a particular theme rather than on a particular incident. In this case, a linked sequence of incidents containing that exact same theme (item) are addressed using the TER procedure.

The TER procedure is very similar to the Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR)I procedure, but has a number of small differences and also includes several new features. The basic action of TER (and TIR) is to help a person (a viewer) to re-experience something that has occurred in that person' s past in such a way as to resolve it. This involves sending the viewer through the experience as many times as needed to reduce it. One just keeps the viewer going through it until it is resolved or until it is evident that a facilitation action or a remedy is needed.

Sometimes, an incident will not reduce at all or will only reduce to a certain extent (no matter how long it is run). If this occurs, one or more of the following situations may exist:

(i) 	There may be an incorrect beginning for the current incident. It is important to get the actual beginning point of an incident.

(ii) 	There may be an earlier incident that is directly related to the current incident, which has the exact same feeling (or another common theme) in it. If so, the earlier incident(s) should also be run, especially the "root incident" (the earliest with that theme).

(iii) 	A heavily charged incident later in the sequence may have been missed or was not adequately reduced. If so, the later incident should also be run or further reduced.

(iv) 	One or more unresolved stuck points (stop points or points of fixed attention) may exist in the current incident.

(v) 	One or more decisional elements (conclusions, decisions or resolutions made by the person at the time) remain unrecognized or unresolved in the current incident.

The TER procedure is largely based on and is very similar to the Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR) procedure developed by the Institute for Research in Metapsychology (IRM). A comprehensive course called the Traumatic Incident Reduction Course is conducted by the IRM and by authorized agents of the IRM.

Viewer  Education

Ideally, some basic educational actions should be undertaken before beginning TER with someone. With these understandings, the viewer can contribute more to the TER sessions and will be easier to work with. However, there can be circumstances where that is not possible and a facilitator simply has to get in there and handle something with it.

Educate the viewer in the basic concepts involved, including: what an experience or incident is and that an incident has a beginning, a middle and an end (if it has ended); that there can be a linked sequence or chain of related experiences; that the incidents of a sequence are usually linked by the exact same feeling; and, that the earliest incident of a particular sequence is known as the root incident and later incidents tend to be reinforced (and held in place) by earlier ones that have the same feeling (or other theme) in them. Also explain that an unresolved incident is an incomplete experience (for that person) that can be restimulated (reactivated) when the person is reminded of it and that the purpose of the TER procedure is to help the person to complete it. Ask for and answer any questions. It is advisable to represent these graphically while doing this, drawing a time line and putting incidents on it, and so on.

Explain the purpose of TER and go over each step of the procedure so that the viewer knows what will be occurring and what is required of him/her. Explain the term "end point" as a suitable point to end off (having achieved a positive result). It is advisable to run the viewer through a very recent and non-traumatic experience (such as eating breakfast that morning or walking into the room for the session) to give the person the idea and get him/her used to the procedure. Do this several times if needed until the viewer can do each action promptly and correctly as directed or requested.

The viewer should understand that the idea is to run through and directly view an incident (to re-experience it) as many times as needed to reduce it - not to remember it, discuss it or analyze it (which can always been done later).

The TER Procedure

In the narrative version, a specific incident has already come up or been identified for handling. Get a brief description of the incident that is acceptable to the viewer. The next action is to direct the viewer' s attention to that particular incident. Example: "We are going to run through the time you hurt your toe ".

With the thematic version, the first action is to find an experience that includes the particular item (theme) to be resolved. The viewer is given a request like "Locate a time when you had/experienced/believed that (the item)" or similar. The wording may need to be varied a little to fit the item. Example: "Locate a time you experienced a feeling of being abandoned ".

Before beginning the procedure, it is usual to ask the viewer to close his/her eyes, so that he/she is less likely to be distracted while running the incident. However, do not make an issue of this if he/she prefers to work with his/her eyes open and can do so successfully.

Assuming that an experience has already been located, the steps of the TER procedure are:

(1) 	Ask the viewer when the incident happened.

(2) 	Ask the viewer where it happened.

(3) 	Tell the viewer to move to the incident.

(4) 	Establish when the incident starts and ends. This further defines the experience.

(5) 	Tell the viewer to go to the beginning of the incident and to tell you when he/she is there.

(6) 	Ask the viewer what his/her perceptions are at this point. This is only done the first time through an incident.

(7) 	Direct the viewer to move through to the end of the incident and to say what is happening as he/she goes through it.

(8) 	When the viewer has reached the end, acknowledge and either repeat steps (5) and (7) or, if more appropriate, do steps (9) and ( 10).

	Continue doing steps (5) and (7) while the incident is discharging or reducing. If it isn't obvious whether or not the incident is discharging or reducing, ask if the incident is reducing (getting lighter) or ask if it is changing.

(9) 	If the incident is not reducing or discharging or is otherwise unchanging, check if the starting point of the incident is correct. If it is not correct, establish the correct starting point and continue from step (5). The ending point of the incident can also be checked if it is suspected of being incorrect.

(10) 	When doing the thematic version: If the incident is not reducing, ask for an earlier incident that is part of the same connected sequence (ie. one which contains the exact same theme). When doing the narrative version: When the incident has ceased reducing, ask for an earlier incident that is very similar to the current incident. If there is an earlier incident, handle it in exactly the same way, that is, from step ( 1 ) above.

If the viewer stops part way through or gets stuck or originates something, just say "OK, Continue" or "OK, Continue through to the end of the incident" (or similar) with firm intention.

If the viewer opens his/her eyes during the procedure (and the viewer normally has them shut), just gently say "Close your eyes" and then give the next appropriate direction or request. If the viewer comes out of or withdraws from the incident (and into the present), move the viewer back to the incident with"OK, Move to that incident" and continue the procedure.

If certain sections of the incident are missing or unavailable and the viewer hangs up on it, just say something like "That's fine, just tell me what you can see " and then continue the procedure. It may be that parts of the incident may not yet be available or that it is nearly resolved (where parts of the incident may no longer appear unless a conscious effort is made to view them).

When doing the thematic version, go through each incident as many times as needed before asking for an earlier incident. Go through the incident only once if it is quite obvious that the current incident has little or no charge on it and/or is fairly late in the sequence. If it is discharging or reducing, move the viewer through it two, three or more times to reduce it and when it stops discharging or reducing or observably slows down, ask for an earlier incident.

Just before asking for an earlier incident, get the viewer to spot a moment in the current incident when he/she had or experienced the theme (eg. feeling) being handled. This helps to ensure that the earlier incident will have the exact same theme in it (and be part of the same sequence).

With the narrative version, only ask for an earlier similar incident after the current incident has been very thoroughly worked over. An exception would be when an earlier incident of a very similar nature comes up of its own accord and is obviously directly connected with it.

If an incident is not discharging or reducing much after several times through, there may possibly be an incorrect starting point for the incident. If this is suspected, check if the already established starting point is correct. The actual starting point is often earlier, but it can be earlier or later. This may need to be checked more than once, as there can be confusion over when an incident begins or ends (as there can be "incidents within incidents" and incidents sometimes overlap). Note that the ending point of an incident can also be wrong and, if this is suspected, should also be checked.

When the current incident appears to be the root incident (thematic version), it should be run through as many times as required to discharge it. If progress is somewhat slow, get the viewer to 'fully experience orfeel (the exactfeeling) in the incident" (ie. the theme being handled) a number of times to reduce it and then continue running the incident. To fully experience something implies viewing it directly and totally experiencing it without resistance.

If an incident is hard to run or progress is very slow, the Stuck Point Questions may help to resolve it. The Stuck Point Questions (see the article "Handling Stuck Points " of 23 August 1993, revised 25 February 1994, by the same author) are a list of questions that help a viewer to directly view and resolve what may be causing a stuck point or fixation of attention to exist in an incident. Stuck points can prevent a person from completing or letting go of an experience. The TER procedure usually resolves them but it can be beneficial to target them specifically.

When the incident has been substantially discharged and appears to be near an end point (both versions), ask for a conclusion, decision and/or resolution (or similar) in the incident. This will often polish it off to a full EP (end point) with realizations and GIs (good indicators). Sometimes, a decisional element (such as a conclusion, decision, resolution or similar) is heavily charged and needs to be discharged further. In other words, the action of identifying a decisional element is sometimes not enough to fully discharge it. The repeating method for doing this is described in the article "Discharging the Decisional Elements of an Incident" of 26 August 1993 by the same author.

See the appendices for a list of the essential requests and questions for both versions of TER.

Facilitation

If the thematic version is being done, it is essential that the item (eg. the feeling, belief, etc.) be accurately identified and concisely articulated. Time spent getting it right is time well spent, no matter how long it takes2. If it is not correct, is too vague or general, or describes more than one feeling, it may prevent the viewer from reaching the root incident by making it impossible to follow the exact path down through the incidents that are part of that connected sequence. The correct belief, attitude or feeling will read strongly (relatively, for that person) when the exact right wording or description is found and there will often be a discharge and sometimes even an FN as well (if a meter is being used). If required, ask the viewer to "Describe thatfeeling (in detail) ? " and ask questions such as "What does it feel like ? " "Does this wording describe the feeling exactly?" and/or "ls (the item) worded correctly?" and/or "Is (the item) really real to you ? " and/or "Is there another way it could be worded or expressed ? " If it is worded correctly and did not discharge much (ie. did not read well), it may be advisable to use a different (lighter) procedure than TER with it (such as a recall procedure).

Keep the session moving along. The facilitator should be in full control of the session without the viewer being distracted by anything the facilitator does or ever kept waiting for the next direction or request. Take only enough notes to keep track of what the current direction or request is and what each incident is about (which may be needed to help the viewer backtrack as part of a remedial action). Note taking should never distract the viewer or hold the session up.

Do not force a viewer through an experience that he/she is not ready to face. On the other hand, some people will need encouragement and confidence building before they will agree to face certain experiences. Get the person' s agreement to proceed if he/she balks. You may need to reassure the person that he/she can do it and that you can and will get him/her through. Express confidence and certainty and don't give up easily. If an incident has come up in relation to a feeling (or other item) that has been correctly identified and read well, then it is almost certain that it is ready to run. The person will make it with your help and the methodology being used.

The thematic and narrative versions are not done in exactly the same way, especially regarding when to look for an earlier incident. With the thematic version, the objective is to go down the connected sequence to the root (earliest) incident and to then fully discharge it.

Incidents encountered while going down the sequence should be unburdened before asking for an earlier incident. As a general rule, stay with a later (non-root) incident while it is discharging or reducing, but as soon as it ceases reducing or is not about to or if it has little or no charge on it, ask for an earlier incident with the same theme. Heavy incidents should be effectively reduced (as far as they are going to) before going earlier. It can happen that a viewer may need to go through a heavy incident a number of times before it even starts to reduce and the intensity of emotional discharges or unpleasant feelings may initially increase before they start to reduce.

On the other hand, when doing the narrative version of TER, there is no theme to go earlier with other than a brief description of the event itself. Asking for an earlier incident that is similar content-wise may work, but it is somewhat risky as an incident can have more than one feeling, attitude or belief as part of its content, each with its own sequence. Also, a viewer' s attention can sometimes be so heavily fixated on the particular incident being run, that he/she may resist moving earlier to another incident. Thus, when doing narrative TER, one tends to stay with the current incident as long as possible and reduce it as thoroughly as possible (including use of the Stuck Point Questions, if needed) before even thinking of going earlier.

2 	Research by Eddie Mace has shown that the more accurately an item is identified, the better it reads, and the better it reads, the better it runs. And, that when an item is identified exactly, it will usually result in a good discharge and sometimes an FN as well. Doing this skillfully (and not just taking the largest or next biggest reading item from a list) can save many hours and achieve much faster and better results.

Remedies

If it is apparent that something has gone wrong, such as the procedure has ground to a halt or the viewer has encountered something that he/she can not handle, there are a number of remedial actions that can be taken.

Before checking the possibilities given below, it is usually worthwhile to discuss the situation with the viewer, as this may reveal what may be wrong or at least reduce the number of possibilities. Ask appropriate questions such as "What is happening?" "How are you going?" "When were you last going okay ? " "What have you experienced (on this sequence) ? " "What ideas do you have about it? " "When did you first start having some difficulty ? " "Did we go past a good point? " (if appropriate) and so on. The purpose is to get the session back on track and to be able to continue the procedure to an end point.

The following are some common situations and a remedy is suggested in each case. Go over each possibility that may be applicable.

(i) 	The connected sequence of incidents may have been departed from (to an incident with a theme that is not exactly the same). If this is a possibility, ask if the current incident has exactly the same feeling (or attitude or belief) as the one started with and, if not, backtrack to the last incident that had the same item in it (not just a similar one) and carry on from there.

(ii) 	Ask if he/she still has some attention on an incident already looked at or if an incident in the sequence is still charged (or a similar question). If so, pick up the sequence from that incident, discharge it further and continue normally. Thematic version only.

(iii) 	If the root incident has been very thoroughly worked over and there is nothing earlier and no end point is in sight, ask for another (possibly later) incident with the exact same feeling or belief, and if so, take it up and carry on normally from that point. Thematic version only.

(iv) 	Another possibility is that the item was not identified correctly in the first place, which would make it almost impossible to stick to the connected sequence when going earlier. If this is suspected, it may be worth asking if the item is correctly worded and, if not, get it expressed accurately and proceed from the last valid point in the chain (which could mean starting over).

(v) 	An end point may have already been reached and the item is being overrun. If this is a real possibility, ask if at some point the item (thematic TER) or incident (narrative TER) was resolved or the viewer felt good about it. If so, find exactly when and what happened at (or just before) that point, ask him/her to describe how he/she felt at the time and ask if that was a valid end point. If so, acknowledge it as an end point and indicate that the sequence has been overrun from that point.

(vi) 	If the viewer is not willing to or simply can't face something in the incident or is reacting badly to something in it:

	(a) Get the incident located in time and space (when and where it occurred) as accurately as possible, and then get or verify the exact points when the incident started and ended.

	(b) Then, find out what in particular in the incident the viewer is having difficulty viewing or re-experiencing and use the Remind Questions on it (ie. "Does that remind you of something ? " and "Does that remind you of something else ? ") until there are no more readily available answers and then do the Stuck Point Questions on it. Do not take up or try to handle anything that the person is reminded of, just get them spotted and stay with the current incident. (Note that it is not "Did that remind you of something ? "). Then, resume running through the incident.

(c) 	If also needed (or alternatively), coax the viewer to run "What part of this incident are you willing to face ? " repetitively until the viewer can face it and then finish it off with TER (if required).

	(vii) The person may be tired, hungry or have a pressing personal problem. If suspected, check these and handle appropriately. If the procedure can not be continued until a later session because of it, make a point of indicating to the viewer that "this incident (or sequence) is incomplete and will be completed in the next session ". If the person is disorientated or not in the here and now, run an Orientation Remedy (eg. "Look at that (nearby object)" or "Touch that (object)") until the person is okay before ending off.

	(viii) There may be something else wrong. Use your knowledge of the procedure and what has happened in the session to work with the viewer to establish what has occurred or gone wrong and to resolve it. Discuss the situation and suggest possibilities. If available, make use of the "TIR Correction List" which covers a wider range of possibilities3.

	(ix) Last resort: A session is itself an experience. If the current or a recent session has been particularly stressful, it can be run as a narrative incident to reduce any emotions or feelings stirred up by it. Get the viewer to move through it a few times to reduce it. Use the Remind Questions, if appropriate. It may even be that an earlier failed session or therapy may exist and may have been restimulated by the current session.

Acknowledgments:

(1 ) 	The TER procedure draws heavily on the works of others, especially: (a) The full TIR procedure as described in publications by the Institute for Research in Metapsychology, (b) a procedure developed earlier by L. Ron Hubbard known as "Routine 3R" and (c) a procedure developed by Eddie Mace called "Procedure One".  The TER procedure is a variant or hybrid version, similar to TIR and R3R in many respects but also containing some new elements not present in either (including the use of the Stuck Point Questions and the discharging of decisional elements).

(2) 	The Remind Questions were developed by Colin Macdonald of Sydney, Australia, who also pioneered the usage of them as described in this article (they have other applications as well).

(3)	The "TIR Correction List" (of 2 August 1988, revised January 7 1989) was written by Frank A. Gerbode and is Article 17 in Volume One of the Journal of Metapsychology, published by the IRM.

APPENDIX A for article "Traumatic Experience Resolution Procedure" of 28 September 1993 by PDG.

Summary of the Thematic Version of the
Traumatic Experience Resolution Procedure

(0)	"Locate a time when you had (or experienced)	" (or similar).

(1) 	"Whendid ithappen?" (or "When was that?")

(2) 	"Where did it happen ?" (or "Where was that?")

(3) 	"Move to that incident"

(4) 	"When does this incident start? " and "When does this incident end ? "

(5) 	"Go to the beginning of the incident (and tell me when you 're there) "

(6) 	"What are your perceptions (at this point) ? " (first time through only)

(7) 	"Move through to the end of the incident (and tell me what is happening as you go along) "

(8) 	Repeat (5) and (7) while the incident is discharging or reducing. If not obvious, ask:

	"Is this incident becoming lighter or heavier? " (or "Is this incident reducing ? ") If not reducing or discharging, check:

(9) 	"Is the starting pointfor this incident correct?" If not, get the actual start point and continue from (5). Can also check "Is the ending pointfor this incident correct?"

	If the incident is not discharging or reducing, ask:

(10) 	"Spot a moment in this incident when you experienced (the selected item) "

	or a similar question, followed immediately (when done) by:

	"Is there an earlier incident when you experienced (the exact same item) " (or similar).

If so, do from ( 1 ) above on the earlier incident and continue to an End Point.

When the root incident has been substantially discharged, ask:

(Concl7) "Do you reach a conclusion in this incident?" and/or (Conv?) "Do you become convinced about something in this incident?" and/or (Decn?) "Do you make a decision in this incident?" and/or (Resn?) "Do you make a resolution in this incident?" and/or (Intn?) "Do you form an intention in this incident? " and/or (Blf?) "Do you come to believe something as a result of this experience ? " (or similar).

See the section "Advices" in Appendix B.

APPENDIX B for article "Traumatic Experience Resolution Procedure" of 28 September 1993 by PDG.

Summary of the Narrative Version of the
Traumatic Experience Resolution Procedure

(0) 	"Locate the time when (the selected event) occurred" (or similar).

(1) 	"When did it happen ? " (or "When was that? ")

(2) 	"Where d id it happen ? " (or "Where was that? ")

(3) 	"Move to that incident"

(4) 	"When does this incident start? " and "When does this incident end ? "

(5) 	"Go to the beginning of the incident (and tell me when you 're there) "

(6) 	"What are your perceptions (at this point) ? " (first time through only)

(7) 	"Move through to the end of the incident (and tell me what is happening as you go along) "

(8) 	Repeat (5) and (7) to discharge and reduce the incident thoroughly. If not sure, ask: "Is this incident reducing?" (or "ls this incident changing?") If not reducing or discharging, check:

(9) 	"Is the starting pointfor this incident correct?" If not, get the actual starting point and continue from (5). Can also check "ls the ending pointfor this incident correct?"

	If the incident has been thoroughly run and has ceased reducing or changing, ask:

(10) 	"Is there an earlier incident that is essentially the same (in some way) as this one ? " or "Is there an earlier incident that is verv similar to this one ? " or "Does this incident remind you of an earlier incident? "

and if so, do from ( 1 ) above on the earlier incident.

When the incident has been substantially discharged, ask:

(Concl?) 	"Do you reach a conclusion in this incident?" and/or (Conv?) "Do you become convinced about something in this incident?" and/or (Decn?) "Do you make a decision in this incident?" and/or (Resn?) "Do you make a resolution in this incident?" and/or (Intn?) "Do you form an intention in this incident? " and/or (Blf?) "Do you come to believe something as a result of this experience ? " (or similar).

Advices (for both versions of the TER procedure):

(i) If needed, use the Stuck Point Questions and/or the Remind Questions on an incident. (ii) When appropriate and needed, discharge the main decisional elements (conclusions, decisions or resolutions) by getting them repeated (out aloud) by the person. (iii) Narrative version only: Work the current incident over thoroughly before going earlier.