Integral Eye Movement Therapy (IEMT) is a developing area rapid change work that explores the area of undesired emotions and our ways of being. 
 
The process explores the question, "How did we learn to feel the way that we do?" and opens up the possibility of creating the appropriate change in our emotional lives. 
 
By teaching resources and skills inside the problem state, IEMT appears to bring the client more into the present moment and enables them to better stay out of past negative experiences. 
 
Practitioners consistently report that IEMT has created change in their clients where no other approach has worked previously. 
 
This extraordinary training course is divided into two halves. On day one participants discover how to use the eye movements in conjunction with the IEMT algorithms to address emotional imprints, and on day two, we explore issues relating to identity and ways of being.

IEMT is not the grand unified theory of therapy and change work and is still a developing model, but has proven to be a very useful adjunctive for the trained therapists and when used in the right hands can provide an excellent remedial tool for emotional change and a generative tool for identity change. 
 
 Practitioners are reporting that IEMT enables excellent results, where previously a good outcome might have appeared improbable. 
 
Such misconceptions have been widely accepted by mainstream psychiatry and psychotherapy as an operating belief of NLP and related disciplines.  
And as a result, it is common for research papers to be written about such eye movements as a way of disproving the claims of the entire field of NLP. Yet of course, such claims for eye movements are not made by anyone who understands NLP correctly. 
 
Meanwhile, in the specific application of trauma recovery and post traumatic stress disorders experience readily shows that application of specific eye movement therapies is particularly effective with regards to intrusive imagery and "flashback" phenomena. 
 
Essentially, the method involves holding the problematic imagery in mind whilst the eyes are moved in different directions.  
The result of this is often that the imagery loses its emotional impact and becomes far less disturbing. The sometimes effective therapeutic model of EMDR is built on this principle. 
 
Integral Eye Movement Technique (IEMT) developed out of these models following the observation of a number of neurological phenomena that occur during the eye movements at the point that the problematic imagery changed its emotional coding. 
 
Then there was the development of a specific set of applications of this phenomenon that enabled IEMT to be applied to the areas of neurological imprints – specifically, emotional imprints and imprints of identity. 

Emotional imprinting occurs when a person lays down a new kinesthetic response to an experience. This teaches the person how to feel about certain things. 
 
For example, how many of us when told by the boss that he'd "like a word" in his office immediately feel like a school child about to be told off. This is an emotional imprint in action. 
 
IEMT addresses and resolves the question, "how did this person learn to feel this way about this thing?" 

Identity imprinting occurs during lifelong development and is constantly evolving and changing. Many aspects of identity are attributed and occur neurologically as a feedback response to the environment. 
 
An example of this is the production worker who yesterday was "one of the boys" and today, following promotion to lower management, is now officially an enemy to his former friends and colleagues. 
 
Other "deeper" aspects of identity are more permanent and are "feed-forward" into the environment. These are the aspects of identity that tend to occur in all contexts, with some being more resilient than others. Examples of this are gender identity, identity as a father/mother, brother/sister and so forth. 
 
Thus, IEMT also addresses the issue of, "how did this person learn to be this way?" 
 
In some cases, the person can adopt aspects of identity that can be problematic. For example, an emotional imprint might be, "I feel unhappy" whilst and identity imprint might be, "I am an unhappy person" or even, "I am a depressive." 
 
By specifically addressing the identity imprint this enables the therapist to by- pass the beliefs that often support the undesired identity such as, "I cannot do that because I am a depressive" and so forth. 
 
IEMT is a proposed brief therapy and an evolving field that enables a core state change in minimal time. 

IEMT is an excellent tool for dealing with a wide range of emotional issues.  
 
It is particularly effective in dealing with: 

• Stress and Anxiety  
• PTSD and Flashbacks
• Insomnia  
• Feelings of guilt, regret and remorse
• Fears and phobias  Dealing with overwhelm   
• Removing negative memories and traumatic experiences
• Panic attacks  
• Overcoming long term identity issues such as divorce 

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Both the EMDR and IETM models use eye movements but in practice that is where the similarity ends. I often tell participants that EMDR and IEMT are exactly the same in the same way that Freud's 'Psychoanalysis' and Bandler's 'NLP' are exactly the same because they both use words. Of course, for the intelligent observer such flippancy is not really required. EMDR is a model used mainly by licenced medical professionals such as psychologists and psychiatrists. IEMT can be used by anyone trained in the model.

Where EMDR is primarily used to treat "trauma", something it is very effective at doing. However IEMT is much more about the Patterns of Chronicity. These are 5 primary patterns that appear common to many chronic patients with, or without a history of trauma.

These five patterns are as follows:

1. Three Stage Abreaction Process
A pattern of escalating emotional behaviour in order to create change in the external environment.

2. The Great Big, "What if..." Question
The use of a single counter-example that sabotages and counteracts any therapeutic generalisation.

3. The Maybe Man Phenomena
The Maybe Man is uncertain of his own experience and this leaks out into his language. By remaining uncertain and without precision he does not commit to his genuine experience or to his identity and thus inadvertantly sabotages effective therapy.

4. Testing for Existence of The Problem Rather Than Testing for Change
Even though 99% improvement might be made, if the person with chronicity is able to locate just 1% of the problem existing, this will generally be seen as representative of 100% of the problem existing.

5. Being "At Effect" rather than "Being At Cause"
By being "at effect" the person experiences emotional problems happening to them, rather than being something that happens by them. A person "at effect" will seek 'treatment' rather than seeking 'change'.

To summarise the differences:

Integral Eye Movement Therapy (IEMT)

• Is a model built around addressing and resolving The 5 Patterns of Chronicity
• Has applications in resolving PTSD
• Traumatic imagery is largely irrelevant to the process
• Addresses imprints of emotion for creating kinaesthetic change
• Addresses imprints of identity for creating change in self concept
• Uses eye movement as the dominant mechanism for change
• By design readily creates introspection and an alpha state with free floating imagery
• Prior qualification is not necessary for training in IEMT
• Developed from an original idea from Steve and Connirae Andreas by Andrew T. Austin

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)

• Is a model built around resolving trauma
• Is an application for resolving PTSD
• Traumatic imagery is central to the work and the client is encouraged to "observe" trauma
• Uses eye movement as well as tapping and alternating sounds
• Utilises affirmations and positive belief statements
• Only psychologists and medical professionals can be officially certified in EMDR
• Developed from an original idea of John Grinder by Francine Shapiro