THE RESOLUTION PROTOCOL
Trauma processing using hypnotherapy and EMDR
The Resolution Protocol is a structured, trauma-focused program designed to process and resolve unresolved trauma using Hypnotherapy and EMDR-informed techniques.
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This program is used when past experiences continue to activate the nervous system as if the threat is still present—despite insight, awareness, or previous therapeutic work.
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The work is stabilisation-first, contained, and clinically informed.
WHO THIS PROGRAM IS FOR
The Resolution Protocol supports individuals who experience:
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persistent triggers or intrusive responses
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disproportionate emotional or physiological reactions
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hypervigilance, startle responses, or shutdown
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trauma that has not fully resolved through talk-based approaches
This is not stress management or skills training.
It is trauma processing, delivered with precision and containment.
COMMON FOCUS AREA
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Trauma-related activation, shutdown, or dissociation
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Persistent triggers and conditioned fear responses
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Trauma-linked anxiety, panic, or somatic distress
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Unresolved trauma from relational, medical, developmental, or shock events
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Complex or layered trauma histories requiring contained processing
This program is indicated when trauma responses remain active despite insight or prior therapeutic work.
WHY THIS IS A 6-WEEK PROGRAM
The 6-week structure is not an arbitrary timeframe.
In neuroscience, this period is known as a Neuroplastic Consolidation Window. A single session can create a breakthrough—a state change. However, for that change to become stable and automatic, the brain requires repeated activation over time to produce structural change.
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​Biologically:
Weeks 1–2: Introduce new patterns and repeatedly activate fresh neural pathways so the brain recognises a new “option” for responding.
Weeks 3–4: Ongoing practice strengthens these pathways via long‑term potentiation, so the new responses become insulated within myelin.
Weeks 5–6: Continued activation supports deeper consolidation and myelination, helping shifts move from effortful practice into more automatic, baseline ways of being.
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At around six weeks, the brain reaches the point where new responses are no longer effortful. Myelination is what transforms conscious effort into subconscious automation.
How it Works ...
The aim of this protocol is to support the brain in moving traumatic memory from active threat response (amygdala-driven activation) into contextualised past memory (hippocampal storage), where it no longer automatically triggers survival reactions.
When this shift occurs, responses that once felt involuntary begin to settle without conscious effort.
Phase 1
Weeks 1–2 | Stabilisation and Nervous System Preparation
This phase establishes physiological safety and internal resources prior to any trauma processing.
Body-Level Shift
​As the stress response settles, the body begins to exit survival mode:
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Baseline cortisol levels reduce
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Hypervigilance and threat scanning soften
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Digestion improves as blood flow returns to the organs
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Sleep may begin to deepen as nervous system tone stabilises
Clients often report feeling more grounded, present, and internally contained—sometimes for the first time in years.
This phase establishes the physiological conditions required for trauma processing to occur without overwhelm or destabilisation.
Physiology and Method
Trauma processing cannot occur safely while the nervous system is in a state of chronic threat activation. During this phase, the focus is on stabilisation and nervous system preparation rather than trauma processing.
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Work in Weeks 1–2 centres on down-regulating the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis, which is responsible for the sustained release of cortisol and adrenaline in trauma states.
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Using Hypnotherapy, Resource Therapy, and somatic stabilisation techniques, safety is established both cognitively and physiologically. Internal resources are identified, strengthened, and anchored, ensuring the nervous system has reliable reference points of safety before any processing begins.
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NLP anchoring is introduced during this phase to install and reinforce states of calm, orientation, and control. These anchors become the foundation used throughout the remainder of the program to maintain regulation during deeper work.
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No traumatic material is processed during this phase.
Phase 2
Weeks 3–4 | Trauma Processing and Somatic Integration
Trauma processing is introduced using hypnotherapy, EMDR-informed bilateral stimulation, and somatic approaches, while regulation is maintained.
Physiology and Method
During this phase, trauma processing is initiated using an integrated approach that combines Hypnotherapy, EMDR-informed bilateral stimulation, Resource Therapy, and Somatic Therapy.
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Traumatic material is accessed while the nervous system is held in a regulated state. Resource Therapy is used to ensure internal parts and resources are available before and during processing, while somatic techniques track and resolve trauma held in the body.
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EMDR-informed bilateral stimulation creates a prediction error in the brain: the memory is activated, yet the body does not enter a threat response. This allows the brain to unlock and reconsolidate the memory without the original emotional charge.
Body-Level Shift
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Somatic reactions (palpitations, sweating, dissociation) disconnect from the memory
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Trauma responses resolve at both cognitive and bodily levels
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Triggers may still be recognisable, but the physiological and emotional reactivity is neutralised
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Processing is paced, contained, and responsive to nervous system capacity at all times.
Phase 3
Weeks 5–6 | Integration and Stabilisation
Processed material is integrated and consolidated, with NLP anchoring used to stabilise new responses and restore present-day functioning.
Physiology and Method
Once traumatic material has been processed, the focus shifts to integration and stabilisation.
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During this phase, NLP processing and anchoring techniques are used deliberately to consolidate change, reinforce safety, and establish new automatic responses. These techniques support the myelination of newly formed neural pathways, allowing adaptive responses to become the default.
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The brain completes the process of hippocampal indexing, assigning a clear time reference to past events and fully re-associating the individual with present-day functioning.
Body-Level Shift
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The nervous system remains settled in situations that previously triggered activation
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Sleep architecture stabilises, including REM sleep
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Emotional and physiological regulation holds without conscious effort
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By the end of this phase, many clients experience a marked reduction in trauma-driven responses, with improvements in regulation and behavioural flexibility, with outcomes varying according to individual trauma history.