EMDR Deconstructed™ ~ ABLS Companion

Imaginal Resources

Twelve resources from EMDR Deconstructed™, Chapter 4, in the order they are meant to be built ~ containment and regulation first, relational and developmental resources after. Each walkthrough follows the RDI Installation Formula. Tap Short set ABLS wherever the script calls for it; the engine below runs your set and counts the passes.

First time here? Build in order:

New to imagery? Start here ~ the Lemon Exercise

Many people are unfamiliar with guided imagery and unsure what to expect. This brief exercise shows you something important before we build anything: the nervous system responds to what the mind creates. The point is not to impress you ~ it is to show you that internally created experience produces real physiological responses.

Settle

Feel your feet on the ground. Notice the chair beneath you. Let's take a breath and settle in. You don't need to move or say anything ~ just imagine along.

The kitchen

Picture yourself standing at the doorway of your kitchen. Look around ~ what do you see to your left? To your right? Notice the floor beneath your feet. Now imagine walking over to your refrigerator. You hear the sound as you open the door, and the light comes on. Inside, you see two bright yellow lemons on the top shelf. Take one in your hand. Feel its coolness. Notice its slightly bumpy texture under your fingers.

The bite

Place the lemon on a cutting surface and pick up a knife. Slowly slice the lemon in half. Notice the spray of juice and the tangy scent filling the air. Bring one half to your nose ~ the sharp, zesty scent of lemon. Now imagine taking a big bite. The sourness on your tongue. The saliva rising in your mouth.

Check in

Did you notice any changes in your body ~ the saliva, a wince, a pucker? That is your nervous system responding to what your mind created. If it believed the lemon was real, it can also believe in the positive images we build here.

No sensory reference for a lemon? Use something familiar ~ fresh bread, coffee, chocolate. The point is the link between imagery and bodily response, not the fruit.

If pictures don't come

Not everyone sees pictures, and nothing is wrong if you don't. A resource can arrive as a feeling, a sound, a warmth, a sense of presence ~ all of it counts. Start with whichever sense shows up first and let the others join, or not. The image is yours; there is no wrong answer.

Four things to hold onto

The nervous system responds to what the mind creates ~ happening now, remembered, or imagined. That means imagery can be used intentionally instead of only reactively.
If a flashback can create fear and activation, positive imagery can create comfort, strength, and regulation. The same system that responds to threat can respond to care.
These resources give you something to turn toward ~ when overwhelmed, before a challenge, or when you simply need ground under you.
Practice matters. Repetition strengthens your access. Recording an exercise on your phone and listening between sessions works.

How every resource is built ~ the RDI Installation Formula

Sensory Data → tap → elaborate → tap → Emotions → tap → elaborate → tap → Body Sensations → tap → elaborate → tap → The Gestalt → tap

In plain terms: bring up the imagery ~ all the sensory data, not just pictures. Imagery means using the imagination, and imagination runs on five senses: what you see, hear, smell, taste, feel on your skin. Tap. With the imagery up, what emotions come up? Tap on the positive emotions. With the imagery up and feeling those emotions, what body sensations do you notice? Tap on the positive. The Gestalt at the end means holding it all at once ~ imagery, emotion, body ~ and tapping. In this work you tap only on what is positive or neutral; if anything negative intrudes, stop, contain it, and come back fresh. Run as many short sets as you want ~ more elaboration, deeper anchor.

Behavioral Rehearsal

Resources are not just for self-soothing; they are for action. Rehearsal is the mental practice of a desired behavior while anchored in an imaginal resource ~ a simulation that strengthens the neural pathways for the response you want. Use standard RDI when the goal is stabilization; use rehearsal when a specific challenge is coming and you need to execute a new behavior, hold a boundary, or navigate a known trigger.

Processing Difficult Memories & Phobias

Two guided sequences built from Chapters 3 and 7. The memory sequence fractionates Phase 4 into its real mental actions ~ synthesis, personification, presentification ~ with a stall-diagnosis tool. The phobia sequence uses the flashforward structure for feared situations: medical procedures, therapy transitions, any anticipated threat.

Compulsive & Addictive Behaviors

A compulsion is not a character flaw. It is a solution ~ a costly one ~ to a problem that could not otherwise be solved. Treat it as the enemy and you side against yourself; treat it as information and you learn what the behavior has been holding at bay. These tools target the emotional payoff, the triggers, and the craving itself.

Exercise Library ~ Chapters 3–7

Every intervention, experiment, and worksheet from the clinical chapters, condensed for use with the ABLS engine. These are starting points, not prescriptions ~ the script is a guide.

Remote Session

One person leads, one follows. The leader's engine settings ~ speed, sound, set length, start and stop ~ drive the follower's screen live. Volume stays in the follower's hands; it is their ears. Nothing else crosses the connection: a random code, engine parameters, and start/stop signals ~ no names, no notes, no clinical content.

Clinician

Lead a session

Create a code, read it to your client over your telehealth call, and run the engine ~ every change you make reaches their device as you make it.

Client

Join a session

Enter the code your clinician gives you. Your engine follows theirs ~ you keep your own volume, and Stop always works on your side.

Out of the box, sessions connect between browser tabs on one device ~ the full protocol, demonstrable today. To connect across the internet: create a free Supabase project, and paste its URL and public key into the SYNC_CONFIG block near the top of this file ~ the deployment guide walks through every click. No other change.