EMDR With Recurrent “Flash-Forwards”: Reflections on Engelhard et al.'s 2011 Study

“Translating Research Into Practice” is a new regular journal feature in which clinicians share clinical case examples that support, elaborate, or illustrate the results of a specific research study. Each column begins with the abstract of the study, followed by the clinician's description of their own application of standard eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) procedures with the population or problem treated in the study. The column is edited by the EMDR Research Foundation with the goal of providing a link between research and practice and making research findings relevant in therapists' day-to-day practices. In this issue's column, Lisa Bellecci-St. Romain references Engelhard et al.'s (2011) study examining the impact of eye movements on recurrent, intrusive visual images about potential future catastrophes—“flash-forwards.” Illustrating the findings by Engelhard et al., Bellecci-St. Romain describes the successful use of the EMDR standard protocol in two cases—a woman fearful of returning to work even after past memories are cleared and a young man in early sobriety whose reprocessing of the past is interrupted by concerns of an imminent court appearance. The case examples are followed with a discussion of the importance of recognizing and targeting flash-forwards as present triggers in the three-pronged EMDR standard protocol.