observed and experiential integration..

does anyone know anything about this. my t wants to use it for ptsd and dissociation.

the word integration for OEI uses the term integration one way and with DID the term integration means a different thing

In OEI the term "integration" means putting together what you observe and what you experience mentally...where as the term "integration" with DID means the alters and host become one person.

the basic premise of OEI is that the human body experiences and perceives things as right sided or left sided..to find out how each side experiences the same situations the treatment provider has the client use one side and then the other..

Some variations of OEI has been used for yrs already are...

writing with the left hand, if you are right handed, write with the write hand if you are left handed will sometimes get the client to address issues from childhood...

covering one eye and telling the therapist what you see, how you feel about the situation vs covering the other eye while looking at something talk about your impressions of it..

putting your each hand in a bowl of water first one hand then the other and talking about what you learn about whats in the bowl using the right side of the brain vs the left side of the brain.

one way I keep what this is and what its for is by the title...observed means how you look at things, experiential means what you experience integration means put the two (what you observe and what you experience) together..

example how my therapist and I use this in my treatment..

I had a work related issue stemming from a domestic violence issue I wont go into all the details so as not to trigger others. my problem area was with an object..a gun. Every time I tried to do my job I feared one of the crisis center's clients abuser would show up with a gun, no one could tell me it wouldnt happen because that kind of thing does happen when you work in a place that deals with domestic violence..

I couldnt do my job if I couldnt get over this issue. so my wife went out and bought a gun and with my wife's help and my therapist's help there I was sitting in my house looking at a gun, noticing every single detail of it...and hating it. my therapist had me cover one eye and tell her what I was seeing, feeling and what impressions I felt was thinking about.. then she had me do the same thing with the other eye.. I was amazed with my right eye I was perceiving that object as being evil, a killer with my left eye I was perceiving that object for what it really was.. just an object that someone else had used to do a horrible thing to someone I worked with. Then my therapist had me look at that object with both eyes and I noticed with having both sides of this issue out in the open I wasnt so afraid of it anymore. I even learned how to use my wife's gun and it sits here in the house when before my wife, therapist and I did the OEI with it I would have panicked at just the idea of having a gun in the house.

how does this fit in with dissociation... most people who experience dissociation symptoms do so because of anxiety, panic OEI works like emdr does....its a therapy technique that lowers a persons anxiety, panic levels, lower the anxiety and panic in some people makes them less prone to dissociate/dissociation.

thank you so much!

ive been trying to figure it out. it doesnt seem to be well known about.

now i understand it. i can make a decision.