Still feeling stuck after therapy? Matrix reimprinting may help

What is matrix reimprinting?

Matrix Reimprinting is very different to conventional talk therapy. It is a type of energy psychology, meaning that it works on the mind and the body’s energy system. 

If you have ever come across acupuncture, which is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, you may be familiar with the idea that there are channels of energy (called meridians) running through our bodies. These energy channels converge at energy centres known as acupuncture points. 

Traditional Chinese Medicine claims that by stimulating these acupuncture points, we may be able to release energetic blockages or constrictions. When practising energy psychology, we tap on these acupuncture points whilst talking about or tuning in to mental or psychological things – a fear of spiders, for example. By doing so, we aim to release or heal the deeper energetic blockage which underlies the psychological issue.

Matrix Reimprinting is an advanced form of energy psychology. It involves tapping on these acupuncture points whilst visualising that we are stepping into a difficult, traumatic memory. Once “inside” the memory, the therapist guides the client to imagine that they are tapping on the younger, child version of themselves, which is in the memory. 

What can matrix reimprinting help you with?

Matrix Reimprinting may help if you have experienced any of the following:

• anxiety
• being bullied at school and still feeling small around authority
• being criticised as a child and now fearing judgment
• feeling not good enough
• fear of rejection in relationships
• feeling invisible or not important
• feeling powerless or unable to stand up for yourself
• embarrassing memories you still think about years later
• feeling like you become a child again in certain situations
• repeating the same relationship patterns
• feeling like part of you is stuck in the past
• feeling unsafe in the world
• feeling unlovable

Because Matrix Reimprinting aims to heal the traumatic memories which are the root cause of many of our day-to-day issues, it can help with a wide range of issues, including but not limited to the above list. By doing so, it aims to bring about big and lasting positive changes.

How does matrix reimprinting work on trauma memories?

According to Matrix Reimprinting, when our brain and nervous system detect a danger which it believes we cannot flee from or fight off, the brain goes into freeze mode, and thus a trauma memory is created. Freeze is what animals are doing when they play dead when faced with an overwhelming predator.

As mentioned, the therapist will guide the client to imagine that they are tapping on the younger version of themself (who is inside the memory), thus releasing the brain’s “frozen” state. Whilst doing this, the therapist or client is actually physically tapping on the client’s body, on the acupuncture points. Tapping on these points may shift the brain out of the freeze state, towards a relaxed brain state called rest and digest.

As this shift occurs, the memory can begin to change for the better. It may become less scary, less filled with anxiety or worry. The therapist will track this shift by asking the client how the memory feels on a scale of minus ten to plus ten (-10 to +10). 

Once the fear and anxiety have been released from the memory, the client will score the memory at a fairly neutral number, around zero. At this point, the trauma might be considered neutralised. But Matrix Reimprinting does not stop there. 

Turning negative memories into positive ones

Matrix Reimprinting expands upon many trauma healing tools because once the memory no longer feels difficult or traumatic, the therapist and client will work together to transform the memory into a positive, life-affirming, supportive memory, which can serve as a resource for the client for weeks, months, and years to come. 

The first step in turning the memory into a positive memory is for the client to ask their younger self (who is in the memory) what they would like to be done. This is because the whole process is about meeting unmet needs from the original experience. There is endless opportunity for creativity and improvisation here. The younger self may ask for supportive or comforting things, such as friends around them, validation, or even a guardian angel or animal to be with them.

This is because trauma is not just what happened; trauma is what happened without the support that was needed at the time.

By providing the younger self with the support it needed, we can shift the memory. Once the support has been provided, the therapist and client continue to work together to fine-tune the memory, such as by adding a nice colourful tint to it, and a comforting smell, such as the smell of jasmine. 

The final step is to “reimprint” the memory and all of the new positive aspects of it by bringing the memory into the heart and then sending it out into the world. This is known as memory reconsolidation.

The client can “reimprint” the memory every day by recalling the new positive memory and all of the new feelings, images, and sensory information (such as smells) associated with it. This can lead to more and more positive psychological shifts unfolding over time. 

Reversing limiting beliefs

According to Matrix Reimprinting, when we undergo any kind of trauma, we form some kind of limiting belief. These limiting beliefs can stay with us throughout our lifetime and create all kinds of issues and symptoms. Present-day issues such as anxiety, self-sabotage, or relationship issues may be partly due to underlying beliefs about ourselves, such as “I’m not good enough”, “I’m not lovable” or “I am powerless”.

When changing the memory into a positive memory, as discussed above, the intention is to create a memory which supports the opposite belief to the negative belief which was formed at the time. For example, “I am enough", “I am lovable” and “I am powerful”.  

Is matrix reimprinting safe?

Matrix Reimprinting is a gentle method wherein the client is always in control. Precautions are taken to avoid re-traumatisation occurring. The client is guided to view their younger self in the memory, whilst remaining their present-day self, rather than “reliving” the memory as if it were occurring right now. Furthermore, the therapist and client discuss “safety protocols” before working on the memory, such as putting a protective bubble around the client or shrinking the people inside the memory to make them seem less threatening.  

In Matrix Reimprinting, the client imagines they are stepping into a difficult memory, and then tapping on their younger self who is inside the memory in order to shift the nervous system from freeze mode into rest and digest mode. The memory is then turned from a negative into a positive memory by providing the younger self with what they need in order to feel supported. The client recalls this new positive memory daily, allowing the changes to ripple into their daily life.  

Many of our present difficulties are rooted in past experiences. By healing burdensome memories and overlaying them with positive ones, some people may find that Matrix Reimprinting can grant them greater freedom from the past, change beliefs about themselves, heal emotionally, and move forward in life with empowerment.