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“I am free.” She recalled a small hint of anxiety on her way home when she thought “I am
driving away from Andrew,” but this was easily assuaged by reminding herself, “Andrew is
there anyway.” A future template (imaginal work plus bilateral stimulation; see Shapiro,
2001) was used to strengthen Adriana’s ability to restructure her thoughts and to manage
her now low-grade relationship anxiety by saying to herself, “It is just the usual anxiety,
you are not going to have me again.”
The session ended with Adriana’s expressing her desire to try some short drives. Because
Adriana still reported some disturbance associated with driving, this was targeted further
through future templates as anticipatory anxiety. In addition, her memory of being trapped
in the elevator and her years of anxiety and failures was targeted because these constituted
the history of her disorder. By the end of the processing session, she was able to recall a
particular moment of healthy functioning prior to the age of 20 and stated “This is me, the
real Adriana, who could do as she pleased and was healthy and free. These years of anxi-
ety have affected my life but are not part of my identity.” These words and this belief were
installed. In the overall therapeutic process, the reconstruction of a person’s identity, as well
as the reinforcement of the person’s health is very meaningful; the processing strengthened
the belief that “I can go back to these moments, I can feel good as I did in the past.” Adriana
concluded with another spontaneous image, “I see myself as I am now, a grown-up adult
waiting for her fiancé. I see these years as a parenthesis, even though I continued to grow
and live even with the burden of anxiety.”
Adriana came to the 18th session saying she went driving alone because she really
wanted to, she just felt like doing it. She went to her fiancé’s and to her grandmother’s. She
toured the village several times and even took a new road. She felt a little insecure and
noticed her hands were sweating and that her heart was thumping, but then everything
immediately normalized. She did not think or feel that she had to go home immediately (as
she used to). On the contrary, the whole drive was experienced with relaxation and enjoy-
ment because she could look around and see the houses or an old acquaintance walking by.
She stressed, in particular, the feeling of enjoyment associated with this trip, in seeing
things differently, without pressure or anxiety. She reported that the car in front of her
stopped at a crossing and she recalled her feeling of pleasure as she said to herself, “Now
I am free.” Previously, this type of situation would have caused considerable anxiety and
would have been perceived as an obstacle or something blocking her way.
In the final sessions, EMDR therapeutic work focused on the consolidation of these
changes to promote generalization. Future situations were targeted and it was decided to
focus on the past behavior to be changed, driving to work alone, without her father. This
was the last agoraphobic symptom and the most anxiety-provoking situation in her hierar-
chy because it involved giving up the secondary gain of her father’s role. After desensitiz-
ing this target (SUD = 0) with the EMDR standard protocol, Adriana stated, “It is true, I
am capable and my father can do something else instead of driving me. Actually, sometimes
he grumbles because he has to wake up early to drive me. . . . Therefore, he can stay home
and do his things and I can be free.” She confirmed the cognition “I am capable,” which felt
completely true in terms of her ability to drive to work alone. The session ended after
installing this positive belief with some sets of eye movements. Six days later, Adriana tried
to drive to work alone and did it with a manageable level of anxiety. In the following weeks,
she continued enacting this behavior. Therapy ended after approximately 30 sessions with
Fernandez, Faretta / Panic Disorder and EMDR Treatment
57