Flash Blink Therapy

The Flash Blink Protocol is a therapeutic approach designed to reduce the emotional intensity of traumatic or distressing memories without requiring clients to relive, describe, or emotionally engage with the experience.

​

Flash Blink works through the brain’s natural process of memory reconsolidation, allowing distressing material to be resolved while the client remains grounded and emotionally regulated. This makes it a particularly gentle and accessible option for individuals who feel overwhelmed by traditional trauma processing methods.

​

Both Liz Enck, LCSW, and Nola Simpson, LCMHC, are trained in the Flash Blink Protocol through direct instruction and consultation with Thomas Zimmerman, the developer of the protocol. Flash Blink is offered as a standalone trauma-processing intervention, used thoughtfully and intentionally based on client readiness and clinical appropriateness.

​

Why Flash Blink Protects the Nervous System

One of the defining features of the Flash Blink Protocol is that it allows trauma to be processed without activating the nervous system into overwhelm. Clients are not asked to relive, retell, or emotionally re-enter traumatic experiences.

Instead, distressing material is intentionally kept out of conscious awareness while the brain completes the work of reconsolidation. This allows healing to occur without emotional flooding, shutdown, or dysregulation, making Flash Blink especially supportive for individuals who have felt overwhelmed or destabilized in prior therapy experiences.

​

 

How Flash Blink Is Different

Unlike traditional trauma therapies that involve sustained focus on painful memories, Flash Blink allows processing to occur without emotional reliving or nervous system dysregulation. Clients experience significant reduction in emotional distress without having to re-experience the trauma or become emotionally overwhelmed.

Because Flash Blink works through memory reconsolidation, once a memory has been fully reconsolidated:

• It does not re-present itself in its previous distressing form

• It does not require future reprocessing

• The change often generalizes across related parts of the trauma memory network
   

Clients frequently notice that triggers connected to the memory also lose intensity, even when those specific moments were not directly targeted.

​

 

What a Flash Blink Session Is Like

During a Flash Blink session, the client first selects a specific memory to work with. This memory is not discussed or described in session, as the goal is to avoid bringing it into general working memory. The client briefly identifies a microslice of distress associated with the memory and then immediately pushes it out of awareness.

​

The client is then guided to focus on a calm, neutral, or positive experience for approximately 30 seconds. During this time, brief, intentional eye blinks are introduced at regular intervals. This sequence is repeated until the distress associated with the memory is eliminated.

Through this process, the brain reconsolidates the memory—shifting it from a traumatic or distressing state into general autobiographical memory. The memory is not erased or forgotten; rather, it no longer feels activating. Clients often describe the memory as feeling more distant, neutral, and less emotionally charged.

​

 

Who Flash Blink May Be Helpful For

Flash Blink may be especially supportive for individuals who:

• Feel overwhelmed by traditional trauma processing

• Experience anxiety or distress when discussing painful memories

• Have a history of emotional flooding, dissociation, or shutdown

• Want a gentler approach to resolving trauma or distress

• Prefer to remain grounded and regulated during therapy
   

Flash Blink can be used with adolescents and adults and is applied based on clinical judgment and individual readiness.

​

 

Learn More About the Flash Blink Protocol

The Flash Blink Protocol is grounded in established principles of trauma neuroscience, memory reconsolidation, and minimal-exposure trauma treatment. Its development and use are supported by growing clinical literature and professional discourse within the trauma-treatment field.

​

Professional and research-based resources include:

• Clinical writings and training materials developed by Thomas Zimmerman

• Peer-reviewed discussions in trauma-focused journals, including the Journal of EMDR Practice and Research

• Presentations and workshops through international trauma organizations, including EMDRIA

• Ongoing clinical research examining Flash Blink as a low-distress trauma-processing protocol
   

Additional professional resources are available upon request.​

 

Flash Blink at the Center for Loss, Grief, Hope & Healing

Flash Blink is offered as part of a trauma-informed, client-centered approach to care. It is used intentionally and ethically, with a strong emphasis on nervous system safety, emotional regulation, and client readiness.

​

If you are curious about whether Flash Blink may be a good fit for you, we invite you to reach out to learn more.

[