Enhancing one’s performance in business, arts and sports is often related to working and performing in very challenging situations and conditions.
The most common reason for seeking EMDR coaching is a traumatic memory (such as an injury during an accident or serious failure) that has been recorded into one’s memory as a mental image that disrupts the present and has a connotation of a negative belief of one’s self (often ‘I don’t know how to do it’ or ‘I am bad at this’). A false belief like this may start to realise itself, which, as the feelings related to the trauma memory become activated in similar situations, will lead to e.g. weakening concentration, underachievement and so-called freezing. Another common reason for EMDR coaching is performance anxiety.
In both cases, the so-called psychological maintenance of performance level processes any memories disrupting the present and the related negative beliefs about one’s self through EMDR’s basic protocol. After this, resources are reinforced using the flashforward technique. When a serious accident is part of the process, it should be noted that processing can be very hard, which may temporarily lower the performance level. When processing performance anxiety with EMDR, it should be considered to what extent it may benefit the actual performance.
At the moment, there is a great deal of scientific research being made about enhancing performance with EMDR. For now, publications concerning the effectiveness of coaching mainly apply to athletes and musicians.