Why is it Observed Experiential Integration (OEI) Therapy?

OEI stands for Observed Experiential Integration. That name describes what the therapy does.

A certified OEI therapist observes what’s happening in the client, because often individuals with trauma have dissociated from their bodies and emotions as a result of traum. The client is guided to notice their experience – describing not interpreting.

Integration means the goal is to help your brain and body connect fragmented pieces of memory that pop up as intrusive thoughts and intense feelings. When the brain integrates the experience, you will feel like the experience is in the past, experiencing more and more distance with each passing day.

What Is Observed Experiential Integration (OEI) Therapy?

OEI has evolved from EMDR  (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and was developed in Vancouver by psychologists Audrey Cook and my mentor, Dr. Rick Bradshaw. They were working with survivors of trauma who weren’t getting better with regular therapy. They noticed that when people focused on their experience with one eye covered, they were able to resolve emotions and memories from trauma. Over time, they developed a set of protocols that helped clients move through trauma without getting overwhelmed or retraumatized.

The Science Behind OEI: Eye Movements, Body Awareness, and Integration

What makes OEI unique is the combination of neuroscience, eye position, and body awareness. It’s based on the experience of trauma experienced and stored in the body, not just in memory.

When something overwhelming happens, the brain may not be able to process the whole event at once. The memory fragments— and pop up into consciousness with intrusive thoughts that often lead to rumination; and intense physical sensations that take over the here and now. This is why we feel stuck AF.

OEI helps the fragments integrate so they can be filed away into the past.

OEI Therapy vs. Traditional Talk Therapy: Key Differences

The name of this trauma therapy matters because OEI is different from traditional talk therapy.

In OEI, you don’t have to talk about your trauma or rehash painful personal events. Talking about trauma can revivify trauma and make it even more complex. This is called Iatrogenic harm, where what you’re trying to do to help your trauma, unintentionally makes the original condition worse.

Instead of using verbal pathways, like talking about trauma, OEI therapy uses visual pathways. This corresponds to how the brain processes, or was not able to process the trauma.

You just need to notice what’s coming up in the moment. We focus on the present moment, not the past.

We pay attention to body sensations, or a flicker of feeling.

The therapist helps you stay with those experiences while using visual (not verbal) pathways, like one-eye-at-a-time processing.

These techniques based in neuroscience, help your brain access and release things it couldn’t process at the time the trauma happened.

How OEI Therapy Helps Integrate Trauma Stored in the Body

The name Observed Experiential Integration captures this process. It’s a direct reflection of what happens in the room. You observe. You experience. And your brain integrates the trauma. Read more information on the neuroscience of integration.

OEI Therapy for Dissociation and Feeling “Stuck

It works well for people who freeze during talk therapy, go blank when asked about their past because they’ve dissociated, or don’t want to talk about what happened and feel stuck AF.

OEI gives your brain another way to process trauma—one that doesn’t rely on talking about the past. Who said remembering is recovering?

No one.

Ever.

This approach is gentle but effective. You’re always in control, and the work moves at the pace your nervous system can handle without revivifying the trauma. That’s part of what makes it feel safe.

It’s called OEI therapy because that’s what it helps you do: observe your experience, Experience what is actually happening in the present moment, and allow your brain to integrate what is intrusive and overwhelming.

Let’s connect.