Taking time for the positive 
Early in the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) journey, there is therapeutic time given to building supportive grounding strategies as part of a selfcare toolbox. One of these resourcing tools may be reconnecting with or developing our own Safe Place (Shapiro 2018, pp. 117-119). This mindfulness practice uses positive imagery of a real or imagined calm and peaceful inner place. This place in your heart, mind, and maybe in your memory, holds a positive personal connection where all your senses are alive with peaceful joy. This safe place is a connection to your inner confidence while also being fully calm. With EMDR we reconnect to this place or other chosen resourcing strategies time and again, as needed. But why? At the immediate level, these and other grounding tools help us during and in between sessions when we’re feeling imbalanced or overwhelmed with what comes up. Starting and ending EMDR sessions in a place of strength and calmness grounds us in feelings of present safety and reminds us that we are our own best support system.
Utilizing this inner peaceful place through positive imagery may be intuitive for some, but for others developing a peaceful inner realm takes practice…and patience. How to step beyond the worries and misgivings and even the “I don’t have time for this” mode?
Practice. Practice allowing yourself time for the positive. Therapy does not take away negative events that have happened. Therapy offers the tools to process the negative and the skills to move into your future a more whole person (here we are connecting to the Old English and Germanic origin of the word heal as “to make whole”). So, this healing process goes beyond addressing wounds created. True healing includes the pieces of joy we pick up along the way. When wounds are deep, noticing the joys or being curious about a place of inner calm can be a struggle, thus we practice. Practice noticing the good outside and in. What makes you whole? Take these pieces of the positive and stitch together this inner place, or emotion, or experience that, in turn, fills you with whole-hearted well-being. Not there yet? It’s okay. This is an on-going practice. You are not alone. This safe place is a room within your greater construction of self-compassion, practice returning to this “room” as needed. During your therapy sessions we are here with compassion so you may have the tools to build further. I say this with the Latin origin of the word compassion in mind; compati- to suffer with. This is an action and a practice. And we are here for it. Your clinician will compassionately hold this safe therapeutic place with you, as you ready yourself to carry this self-compassionate toolbox into your future.
But, how long before this Safe Place exercise is no longer needed?
Patience. Be patient with yourself. Our go-go-go society does not naturally give space for slowing down and finding our inner calm. Slowing down may mean constructing imagery full of positive emotions and sensations or perhaps moving towards a full meditation practice. Whatever the mindfulness strategy you find working for you, move slowly into this space. Look around. What do you notice? What do each of your senses tell you about this place of inner peace? What you notice and are ready to walk towards will be different from how others will build their own Safe Place, just as the length of therapeutic journeys vary. Allow yourself to be curious when your patience is limited. Perhaps your Safe Place will morph and adapt as your healing journey evolves. Intertwining patience with this practice of connecting with your inner peaceful space may even grow into an unexpected yet treasured respite. I know my personal inner peaceful place has adapted, strengthened … and is still visited often.
Reconnecting to yourself takes time. You are building a relationship with yourself. Take time for the positive, build up your inner sanctum of peace. You are worth this time.
– Aura LaBarre, MA, NCC, LCMHC