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a couple of examples there was a man who came to me who was in
an incredibly bad state he was shaking from head to toe, he couldn't
even close his eyes for relaxation to begin with at all
because he'd seen a stranger jump to his death in front of him
and so he kept replaying in his mind that whole scenario of seeing the guy and watching
the event unfold so every time he closed his eyes, that's all
that he could see so I used the rewind as one of the techniques
with him and within that one session that memory had all changed for him, and he was
able to see it from a different perspective he knew it had still happened and he still
felt a lot of feelings about the guy and for the guy, and sorrow and grief for him
but he wasn't replaying the horror of it. He was able to see it completely differently
There was a little girl I worked with as well, who had accidentally watched some video footage
of the Taliban, and her father at that time was living in Afghanistan, and so the parents
didn't know that she'd seen that but she'd started running away from home
and from school, and basically she was trying to run away from herself - from her mind and what
it was doing she was replaying the taliban that she'd seen,
and thinking they were after her father, and they were going to get her father
and so we were using the Rewind technique to change the taliban to being in nappies, and ballet tutus and stuff like that
and she began to see things very differently and then when she did think of them, she just
saw them as really silly people and they had no threat to her father
her father's now back in this country, so all is well
a lady I worked with as well had a young child, and if the young child wanted to cuddle her
or tickle her she'd freak out - especially if the child's hands went near her neck
and it turned out she'd had somebody attempt to strangle her
and so any time there was any physical contact, anywhere near her neck, or that part of the body
she'd be back there in that situation again
so using the Rewind we changed that experience for her
and she was able to have cuddles with the little girl, put the little girl's hands and
arms around her neck and no problem at all so those are just a few examples
I use it for all sorts of things from major to minor things
and in different ways but to help people to see incidents that have
happened but in a different way so they still know that the thing has happened
but the emotional content is taken out of it
MARK: that's right, isn't it. it's not as if they don't know if was bad at the time
- but it doesn't feel so horrifying to think about
it's more like they can choose to think about it or not rather than the memory comes to
them and control kind of thing it's interesting about the taliban
you're talking about sort of vicarious trauma - how people can see something on tv
i think after 9/11 particularly there were thousands of reported cases of people, because
we were shown the images over and over on the tv
and it's very easy to be vicariously traumatised or hearing someone else describe something
I've worked with people who have - you know, their imagination kicks in and we can
traumatise ourselves through what we imagine
the imagination is powerful what's the sort of thing you've noticed after
you've done the Rewind in the way that someone relates to the memory?
obviously they've still got the memory...
PIPPA: I think one of the many things, even for very traumatic things is that they can
think back on them and even laugh which is extraordinary if you think of something
that has been terrorising them you were talking about 9/11 - at the time
that that happened I was working at the BBC and so I was watching even more footage than
probably most people I'd loved flying but after that I developed
an incredible phobia I wouldn't go on a plane - I'd take the ferry
of the train or whatever instead so I actually did then, once I learned it,
the Rewind on myself! I booked another flight this year!
MARK: I did the Rewind on myself for public speaking, years ago
and because I'd done public speaking and had a panic attack at the beginning
the thought of doing it again was horrifying but then I thought
"hang on a second, I know about this sort of thing!" did the Rewind and ever since then, for better
or worse, I never get anxious at all really. PIPPA: it's amazing, isn't it?
I used the Rewind with a group of people a couple of years ago i did a spider phobia
workshop at the Coxwall Wildlife Park, which is in Oxfordshire here
and the Rewind was one of the techniques I used
and some of the people had developed that phobia from parents
or from themselves, it didn't matter I worked with people who'd been so scared
of spiders they'd run naked down the street from their bathroom, to get help!
and so using it in a group situation works equally well
I've also used it with a little boy and because of his age he didn't really want to concentrate
enough to close his eyes so i tried the Rewind and said "well we'll
do it with your eyes open this time" and it worked - it was amazing
MARK: and as you say you can adapt it it's really the principles that are the important thing
it is a technique which is quite structured
but you can use it flexibly, once you understand it and once you're confident with it
PIPPA: something that I do with people who have the memory or the trauma that was very
serious to them i'll tell them before we do it that whatever
we do i'm using it with the greatest respect for that memory
I'm not taking the mickey out of it I really don't want people to think
"you're just laughing at it" and it's not important actually it's just a way of rewiring the brain
and the memory MARK: yeah, and it's interesting you mention
that sometimes people laugh at it I found personally that doesn't happen so
much if it was a traumatic memory - they were attacked, or something like that
but for phobias certainly, people now find that the thought of spiders is amusing,
whereas 30 minutes before it was something that terrorised them
that's a really massive shift and if you laugh at something you're seeing
it from the outside, aren't you - you're more objective about it - that's what humour is
in a way PIPPA: you're seeing it from an observer's
point of view as well rather than really feeling it
with the spider phobia workshop I got lots of normal spiders for them as well, but also
found them a tarantula and the tarantula became fluffy - a cuddly
kind of cute thing! MARK: I always see tarantulas as more like
mammals anyway! I remember seeing a couple in cuba and they
were huge! you could have put sandals on them! that's very interesting with spiders in particular
I think it's the movement as well that people don't like, isn't it - the scattling
PIPPA: it's the fright, when you see something suddenly move and you don't know it was there
MARK: yeah, and that can tip in to panic sort of accidentally, can't it?
someone could still jump if something moves quickly
but then from that jump, they come down quickly that's what we want
PIPPA: yeah, to calm down quickly and see things in a different way
MARK: talking about you for a second, I saw that you were voted challenge oxfordshire
practitioner of the year PIPPA: I was! which was amazing!
MARK: I heard that through the grapevine can you tell us a bit about that?
PIPPA: yes, that was something that I didn't really know much about until I was asked to
join in with it, if I might take part but i said no, because i've never been out
there putting myself forward, going "look at me, look at me!"
but I was encouraged to, and then I got through the first round, with enough people saying
"yes" she needs to be and then word got out and the votes just kept
coming in and it was incredible absolutely incredible to have won that - such
an honour from the people I've worked with and it was with all different health practitioners
throughout oxfordshire doing all sorts of things
other hypnotherapists, other psyshotherapists, nutritionists and younger people
and they picked me! MARK: if you'd told me about it at the time
I would have voted for you as well! PIPPA: I'll tell you next time...
MARK: well thank you very much that was really useful
keep doing the fantastic work you're doing and it's been lovely to talk to you
PIPPA: and you as well