Is There a Gentler Way to Heal Trauma? How RIM Compares to Traditional Trauma Work

Many people who do traditional trauma work find it helpful and also exhausting, because it can involve revisiting painful memories again and again. RIM, which stands for Regenerating Images in Memory, offers a different experience. Instead of retelling a memory until it loses its charge, RIM works with the body and imagery so the memory can be experienced in a new way, often with a sense of safety and support that was missing the first time. For many people, it feels gentler.

I want to share how one of my clients described this difference, in her own words, because she says it better than I could.

"Sometimes It Felt as Though I Was Reliving Those Moments"

My client spent four years in therapy, including about a year and a half of intensive trauma work. She is quick to say she had a wonderful therapist and is grateful for everything they accomplished together.

She also described how hard the process was. She wrote down traumatic experiences and revisited them repeatedly in 45-minute sessions. In her words, "sometimes it felt as though I was reliving those moments all over again." She often left feeling drained and overwhelmed, still carrying the painful images with her.

I hear versions of this often. Someone has done brave, real work in therapy. It helped. And the process cost them a great deal.

Why Revisiting Trauma Can Feel So Hard

Painful memories are stored with more than facts. They carry sensations, emotions, and the felt sense of what it was like to be in that moment, often helpless or unsafe. When you retell the story, your body can respond as though it is happening again.

Researchers who studied RIM in 2025 point to a related problem. They note that simply talking about a traumatic memory often fails to unlock it from analytic, thinking-based processing, so symptoms may stay the same. They also note that cognitive behavioral therapy, the leading talk-based approach for PTSD, can lose people along the way because of the time and effort treatment requires.

None of this means talk-based trauma therapy is wrong. It helps many people, including my client. It means some people may benefit from additional ways in.

How RIM Works With Painful Memories

RIM is a facilitated, body-based process developed by Dr. Deborah Sandella. I am an Expert Facilitator in RIM. A session usually moves through stages often described as dip, see, and do.

• Dip: You turn your attention inward, starting with slow breathing and noticing sensations in your body.
• See: Imagery begins to flow, and a memory or emotional pattern often surfaces on its own.
• Do: With guidance, you experience that memory differently. You might speak, move, or bring in support that was missing. The memory is regenerated with a sense of safety.

Then we bring your awareness back to the present and connect what shifted to your life now.

The 2025 researchers describe this as allowing new experiential learning. RIM first creates a sense of safety and control, lets difficult memories rise into awareness, and then helps the person regenerate them into an empowered version that is stored as an experience of safety.

What RIM Felt Like for My Client

Here is how she described the difference after more than a year of working with me in coaching and several RIM sessions.

It starts with whatever she is feeling

She described entering sessions with a specific fear, emotional pain, or inner tension. We begin there, and the process unfolds naturally. She does not have to arrive with a polished story or a plan.

Support shows up inside the experience

Images, memories, people from her past, or imaginary companions may appear during a session. She described those companions as a wonderful source of comfort and support during difficult moments.

She does not have to relive it the same way

In her words, "I don't feel that I have to repeatedly relive painful situations in the same overwhelming way." She described emotions shifting, new perspectives emerging, and something that once felt incredibly heavy beginning to feel lighter.

The changes last

What amazed her most was that positive changes often stayed with her long after a session ended. In one session, she came to see experiences with her mother from a different perspective and let go of some resentment, without excusing or minimizing what had happened. In another, people from her past appeared whose importance she had almost forgotten. After every session so far, she said, she has felt lighter, calmer, or more emotionally free.

It is still real work

She was honest that difficult emotions can still come up in RIM. For her, the process feels much gentler and more supportive. That honesty matters. RIM gives you enough safety and support to move through those feelings.

RIM and Trauma Therapy Can Work Together

My client said it clearly: trauma therapy was an important part of her healing journey, and RIM gave her another way to approach emotional pain, fears, and experiences from her past. She also said she wished she had discovered it sooner.

I see RIM as a complement to trauma therapy. If you are working with a therapist, RIM can sit alongside that work. If you have finished therapy and still feel stuck, RIM may offer a door that talk alone did not open.

The research is promising and still early. The 2025 EEG study of RIM found that participants reported lower depression, anxiety, and stress after one session, but it had no comparison group, so larger randomized trials are needed before drawing firm conclusions. I break that research down in detail in A Therapy That Feels Like Psychedelics, Without the Drugs.

Is RIM Right for You?

RIM may be a good fit if:

• You have done trauma therapy and found the process draining, even when it helped.
• You understand your story and your body still reacts the old way.
• You carry resentment, grief, or fear connected to family or your past.
• You want an approach that starts with how you feel right now.
• You are looking for something to work alongside therapy.

If you are currently in crisis, experiencing active PTSD symptoms that disrupt daily life, or need clinical treatment, please work with a licensed mental health professional first. RIM can be a powerful addition to that care.

What I Want You to Know

Healing from trauma does not have to mean suffering through it all over again. Your body has been holding these memories for a long time. With the right support, it can learn that those moments are over and that you are safe now.

As my client put it, RIM helped her see parts of her past differently, release some of what she had been carrying, and keep moving forward on her healing journey.

This article is educational content and is not medical or mental health treatment. If you are in crisis or need clinical care, please contact a licensed professional.

Sources

• Cook PF, Aagaard LM, Krug Avery L, Long N, Alford A, Sandella D. (2025). How is a psychotherapeutic process like a psychedelic drug? Neurocognitive evidence for a novel mechanism of action with Regenerating Images in Memory. Frontiers in Psychology, 16:1539079.
• Client testimonial, shared with permission and with identifying details removed.

About Annie M. Henderson

Annie is a life coach, five-time author, podcast host of The Liberated Lesbian Lounge, and Expert Facilitator in RIM. She holds a BA in Psychology from Austin College and master's degrees in Education, School Counseling, and Professional Counseling. She spent 15 years in public education as a teacher and school counselor and was previously a Licensed Professional Counselor. She helps women break free from people-pleasing and build boundaries that hold, and shares this work with 118K+ followers on TikTok.

Annie is also the author of Later in Life Lesbian, Women with ADHD, Boundaries in Ink, The Liberation Year, and The Liberation Year Journal. Find her books on Amazon.