Rewind technique

1. Introduction

Version followed: the Human Givens (HG) rewind protocol of Joe Griffin and Ivan Tyrrell, as taught by the Human Givens Institute/College and summarised in six stages by Adams et al. (2022). David Muss's variant ("the Rewind Technique", used in the Cardiff RETURN trial) is described for contrast in 4.14. The NLP visual/kinaesthetic dissociation ("fast phobia cure") it derives from has its own guide (entry 112). Guide 029 (Human Givens) gives the wider therapy this sits in.

The rewind technique is a brief, imagery-based, graded exposure procedure for single-incident trauma memories, PTSD symptoms (intrusions, flashbacks, triggered fear) and phobias. With the client deeply relaxed, the therapist guides them to view the traumatic event as a short film, first from a doubly distanced position (watching themselves watch the screen), then from a single distance, then associated but run very quickly backwards. The cycle is repeated until the scenes no longer evoke emotion, then the client may rehearse coping with a future trigger. [source: HGI rewind pages; Adams et al. 2022]

Core idea of change: HGI states the aim is to neutralise the high emotional arousal that stays attached to a traumatic memory, so the memory is held as an ordinary past event instead of being re-lived. Griffin and Tyrrell held that low arousal during re-exposure is the critical factor; Adams et al. also discuss memory reconsolidation (the memory is reactivated and updated with non-fearful information), extinction, the "observing self" and graded distancing as candidate mechanisms. [source: Adams et al. 2022] Griffin and Tyrrell's fuller theory (in The Shackled Brain, 2001, and Human Givens, 2003) is not drawn on; the HGI pages refer only in general terms to neuroscience of trauma processing. [uncertain]

Lineage: Richard Bandler's visual/kinaesthetic dissociation protocol (NLP, 1985 per HGI; Adams et al. cite Bandler and Grinder 1979) → David Muss, who named it "rewind" and published it in 1991 → Griffin and Tyrrell's HG refinement, which adds deep relaxation and further steps to keep arousal low. Muss's current version, by contrast, omits relaxation. [source: HGI rewind pages; Adams et al. 2022]

2. Framework

Rewind is a single procedure, not a full therapy. In HG practice it is delivered inside HG therapy (calming, needs and goals work, skills, imagery, metaphor; see guide 029). [source: Adams et al. 2022]

Typical dose and format [source: Adams et al. 2022; ISRCTN91345822]

HG practice-based cohorts (police staff, veterans, an NHS PTSD clinic, private practice): mean 5 to 6.5 HG therapy sessions in total (range 1 to 24); 73% to 84% finished in six or fewer. One cohort evaluated a single rewind session within HG therapy. The number of rewinds per session is not reported; several traumas or triggers can be processed in one session.
Muss version (RETURN trial): three 60-minute one-to-one sessions; the forward run should take no more than about 2 minutes and the backward run about 10 seconds; clients usually practise several times before doing it confidently. HGI cites the 2023 trial as suggesting "one to three sessions of rewind" may be enough.
One-to-one, in person in HG cohorts; the 2023 trial delivered Muss's version remotely by video. [source: HGI rewind pages]

Phases

Phase	Goal	Move on when
A. Engagement, assessment, calming (HG therapy)	Rapport, history in outline, goals, lower general arousal, teach calming skills, address urgent unmet needs	Client can calm themselves and agrees to rewind; risk is manageable [synthesis for criteria]
B. Preparation and activation	Explain the procedure; build the "video" (good memory → just before the trauma → until it is over → recent good memory) for each trauma or trigger; confirm the memory still carries emotion ("trauma template" activated)	Start and end points chosen; memory triggers emotion briefly
C. Relaxation	Deep relaxation, imagining a pleasant, relaxed place	Client visibly relaxed
D. Double distancing exposure	Client watches themselves watching the video, back and forth	Client calm while watching themselves
E. Single distancing and association exposure	Watch the film on the screen until calm, then float back in and run it very quickly backwards from end to start, then fast-forward on screen; repeat at the fastest comfortable speed	Scenes evoke no emotion (HGI: "no emotion from the client"; Adams et al.: no anxiety)
F. Rehearsal (optional)	Visualise handling a similar future situation in the preferred way	Client can imagine it calmly
G. End	Re-orient to the present	Alert and grounded
H. Review	Check intrusions, triggers and measures at the next session	See 4.14

[source: Adams et al. 2022; HGI rewind pages; review phase and Phase A criteria are synthesis]

3. Guiding principles

Keep arousal low throughout. Exposure is graded so arousal stays relatively low (inside the "window of tolerance", in Adams et al.'s wording). Practical meaning: if distress rises, add distance or relaxation; do not push through. [source: Adams et al. 2022]
Relax first, always (HG version). HGI calls deep relaxation essential to avoid "deepening the emotional trauma pattern". Practical meaning: no rewind until the client is genuinely relaxed. [source: HGI rewind pages]
The template must be live. Rewind "cannot work if someone is emotionally cut off from their experience". Practical meaning: briefly surface the feeling and check it is there before relaxing; if cut off, reconnect the emotion first. [source: HGI rewind pages]
Graded distance: double → single → associated. Practical meaning: the client earns each step closer by being calm at the previous one. [source: Adams et al. 2022]
Bookend with safety. Every run starts before the danger and ends after it was over, inside good memories. Practical meaning: the client always lands somewhere safe. [source: Adams et al. 2022]
Non-voyeuristic: details need not be told. Clients "do not have to" disclose intimate or upsetting details. Practical meaning: you need start point, end point and a working title, not a narrative; this also limits vicarious trauma. [source: HGI rewind pages]
Fast and repeated. Repeat back and forth "at the highest speed that feels comfortable" as often as needed. Practical meaning: speed and repetition, not lengthy dwelling, do the work. [source: HGI rewind pages]
Several traumas can be done in one session. Practical meaning: list the separate memories and triggers and work through them in turn. [source: Adams et al. 2022]
Experienced practitioner only. HGI states it should be carried out by an experienced practitioner; HG practitioners follow a set Rewind Protocol taught by Human Givens College. Practical meaning: train and get supervision before using it. [source: HGI rewind pages]
Stabilise first when trauma is complex. In complex, relational or childhood trauma, HG authors report long stabilisation (calming skills, boundaries, goals) and use rewind later for discrete, clear memories. Practical meaning: rewind is a step within therapy, not the first move. [source: Gajewski 2016]
Fit relaxation to the person. Relaxation can backfire with some clients; body scans may suit better than imagined nature scenes. Practical meaning: test relaxation before using it as the base for rewind. [source: Gajewski 2016]
The memory is the client's experience. Process what the client recalls as it is; relaxation and imagery are never used to search for or "recover" memories. [synthesis, in line with Domain VI rules]

4. Intervention inventory

The published HG description gives the stages and their order, not a verbatim script. The detailed HG Rewind Protocol is taught on Human Givens College courses and in Griffin and Tyrrell (2001), which are not drawn on; step detail beyond the sources cited is marked [synthesis]. All example wording is illustrative and in my own words. [source: HGI rewind pages; Adams et al. 2022]

4.1 Readiness check and screening

Purpose / when: Before offering rewind, decide whether the client is ready and whether rewind fits.
Steps: (1) Confirm the target is a specific memory or set of memories (or phobic episodes) that still trigger fear, intrusions or avoidance. (2) Check that the client can calm down with a skill (4.2) and is not in acute crisis. (3) Screen for the conditions the RETURN trial excluded: current psychosis or bipolar disorder, traumatic brain injury, substance dependence, acute suicidal ideation, personality disorder, learning disability. These were trial exclusions, not stated contraindications, so use them as prompts for caution and extra stabilisation. [source: ISRCTN91345822] (4) Check for marked dissociation, emotional numbing or a history of relaxation making things worse (see 5). (5) For complex, childhood or relational trauma, plan stabilisation first and choose discrete, clearly remembered episodes as targets. [source: Gajewski 2016] (6) Obtain informed consent: explain what will happen, that details need not be told, that the client can stop at any time with an agreed signal, and that the aim is to remove the emotional charge, not the memory. [synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "Before we try this, I want to be sure you have a reliable way to calm yourself, and that we're aiming at the right memories."
Watch for: Ongoing danger (current abuse, unsafe housing), which comes before memory work; legal proceedings where the client will testify (discuss before starting, see 5). [synthesis]

4.2 Calming skills and psychoeducation (HG therapy preparation)

Purpose / when: Lower general arousal and give the client tools before exposure; essential with volatile or complex clients.
Steps: (1) Explain the fight-or-flight response in plain terms and why traumatic memories keep triggering it. (2) Teach 7/11 breathing (an HG breathing exercise with a longer out-breath; the exact counting instructions are [uncertain]). (3) For highly aroused clients, teach a distraction task such as counting back from 100 in threes. (4) Practise in session until the client can bring their arousal down. [source: Gajewski 2016; anxiety management is listed among HG components in Adams et al. 2022]
Example language (illustrative): "When that alarm goes off, your thinking brain goes offline. Let's practise switching it back on, breathing out for longer than you breathe in."
Watch for: Practice that raises anxiety (switch to an eyes-open or counting task).

4.3 Explaining the procedure

Purpose / when: Stage 1 opener, every time rewind is used; sets expectations and gains consent. [source: Adams et al. 2022; ISRCTN91345822]
Steps: (1) Give a short rationale: the memory is stuck with alarm attached; viewing it calmly and from a distance, then running it backwards quickly, helps it be stored as an ordinary past event. (2) Describe the sequence (relax, safe place, screen, watching from a distance, running back and forth). (3) Stress that the client controls the remote control and can pause. (4) Make clear they do not need to describe the event. [source: HGI rewind pages; rationale wording is synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "You won't need to tell me what happened. I'll just need to know where the film starts and ends. You'll stay in control of it the whole time."
Watch for: Fear of losing control or of hypnosis; address before relaxing.

4.4 Building the "video": start, end and safe bookends

Purpose / when: Stage 1. Defines what is processed and guarantees every run begins and ends in safety.
Steps: (1) Ask for a good memory to open the film. (2) For each trauma or trigger, mark a point just before the incident, when the client was still safe, and the point when it was over. (3) End with a recent good memory. (4) If there are several traumas or triggers, list them and sequence them in the video or treat them one at a time. (5) Give each a short label so you can refer to it without detail. [source: Adams et al. 2022; labels are synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "Where would the film start, at a moment when you were still okay? And where does it end, when you knew it was over?"
Watch for: An end point that is not yet safe (e.g. the client still in danger); move it to a later, safe moment. The RETURN version includes "what could have happened next" content if it is part of the usual intrusive recall. [source: ISRCTN91345822]

4.5 Checking the trauma template is activated

Purpose / when: Just before relaxation. Rewind needs the emotional memory to be engaged.
Steps: (1) Ask the client to bring the memory to mind briefly. (2) Notice whether emotion appears (face, breathing, a rating). (3) If it does, stop at once and move to relaxation. (4) If the client is emotionally cut off, help reconnect with the feeling first, then relax them deeply. [source: HGI rewind pages; node/284 describes briefly surfacing the anxiety then calming it]
Example language (illustrative): "Just touch on it for a second. Notice what happens in your body. Good, let it go now."
Watch for: Prolonged surfacing (keep it brief); no emotional response (see 5, numbness).

4.6 Deep relaxation and the pleasant place

Purpose / when: Stage 2; the HG addition that keeps arousal low during exposure.
Steps: (1) Guide the client into deep relaxation (HG therapists typically use guided imagery and breathing; specific induction [uncertain]). (2) Invite them to imagine a place where they feel completely at ease, with all senses. (3) Deepen relaxation. (4) Within that place, have them imagine a screen (TV or cinema) and a remote control in their hand. [source: HGI rewind pages; node/284]
Example language (illustrative): "Let your breathing slow… and picture a place where you feel completely at ease. Notice what you can see there, what you can hear… Somewhere in that place there's a screen, and you're holding the remote."
Watch for: Signs of relaxation (slower breathing, loosened muscles). If relaxation produces agitation, tears or suspicion, stop and use another calming route (body scan or eyes open). [source: Gajewski 2016]

4.7 Double distancing: watching yourself watching

Purpose / when: Stage 3; the most distant, least arousing exposure.
Steps: (1) Ask the client to imagine floating out of their body and watching themselves sitting watching the screen, so they see themselves, not the picture. (2) The self on the seat watches the film from the opening safe point, through the event, to the safe end. (3) Run it forwards and backwards from this position. (4) Repeat until the client is calm watching themselves. [source: node/284; Adams et al. 2022]
Example language (illustrative): "Float up and back, so you can see yourself sitting there, watching the screen. You don't need to see the picture, just watch yourself watching it, from the safe moment at the start to the safe moment at the end."
Watch for: Signal finger or brief verbal check that the run is complete; any rise in distress means pause, return to the pleasant place, then continue.

4.8 Single distancing: watching the film on the screen

Purpose / when: Stage 4 first part; closer exposure once double distancing is calm.
Steps: (1) The client now watches the film directly on the screen, as a spectator. (2) Run forwards and backwards with the remote. (3) Repeat until calm. [source: Adams et al. 2022] In the Muss version the client imagines watching the event as if recorded on CCTV, from just before it started. [source: ISRCTN91345822]
Example language (illustrative): "Now watch the screen yourself. Start from the safe moment, let it play through to the end, and stop the film there."
Watch for: Calm while watching is the signal to move to 4.9.

4.9 Association exposure: the rapid rewind from inside

Purpose / when: Stage 4 core step; brief, fast, associated exposure once single distancing is calm.
Steps: (1) At the end of the film, at the safe end point, ask the client to float back into their body (HG) or step into the screen (Muss). (2) They then experience the event very quickly backwards, from the end to the safe point before it started, "as if rewinding a film", with sights, sounds and sensations running in reverse. (3) Arrive back at the opening safe point. [source: node/284; Adams et al. 2022; ISRCTN91345822]
Dosing: Muss version: forward run up to about 2 minutes, backward run about 10 seconds. [source: ISRCTN91345822] HG sources give speed only as "very quickly" / the fastest that feels comfortable. [source: HGI rewind pages; Adams et al. 2022]
Example language (illustrative): "Now float back into yourself at the end, when it's over. And rewind, fast, everything going backwards, all the way back to the moment before it started. Good. You're back at the safe point."
Watch for: Getting stuck partway (prompt to keep the film moving quickly); strong distress (see 4.12 and 5).

4.10 Fast-forward on screen and repeated cycles

Purpose / when: Stage 4 continued; repetition until the emotional charge is gone.
Steps: (1) After each associated rewind, the client watches the same film on the screen, pressing fast-forward (distanced). (2) Then associated rewind again (4.9). (3) Repeat the back-and-forth cycle at the highest speed that feels comfortable, as many times as needed. (4) Stop when the scenes evoke no emotion. [source: node/284; HGI rewind pages] The RETURN record notes that clients usually need several practice runs before they can do it well. [source: ISRCTN91345822]
Example language (illustrative): "Watch it on the screen at fast-forward… now in, and rewind… and again, a bit faster if that's comfortable."
Watch for: Emotion falling run by run (observed calm, client report, distress rating if you use one [synthesis]). Count of repetitions is not specified in HG sources.

4.11 Processing several traumas or triggers in one session

Purpose / when: Multiple discrete traumas, or multiple phobic episodes.
Steps: (1) Build a video per trauma or trigger (4.4), or one video containing each in turn, each bounded by safe points. (2) Run 4.7 to 4.10 for each. (3) For phobias, use the most frightening episodes. [source: Adams et al. 2022; HGI rewind pages] Order (worst first or least first) is not specified in the sources; begin with the most distressing or most triggering only if the client is coping well. [synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "We've cleared the first one. Shall we put the second on the screen now, or leave it for next time?"
Watch for: Fatigue; leave enough time for closure.

4.12 In-session grounding when arousal rises

Purpose / when: Any point where the client becomes distressed, tearful, frozen or spaced out.
Steps: (1) Stop the film ("press pause") and return to the pleasant place. (2) Re-deepen relaxation or use 7/11 breathing. (3) Increase distance (back to double distancing). (4) If dissociating: open eyes, orient to the room, name objects, feet on the floor, counting back in threes. (5) Resume only when calm; otherwise close the session (4.13) and return to stabilisation. [source: distance and low-arousal principle from Adams et al. 2022; calming tasks from Gajewski 2016; sequence is synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "Press pause. Let the screen go blank and go back to your calm place… Breathe out slowly. We'll only go on when you're ready."
Watch for: Loss of contact with you (no response to voice) means come fully out of imagery.

4.13 Future rehearsal (optional)

Purpose / when: Stage 5, when the feared situation will be met again (e.g. driving, using a lift, returning to work).
Steps: (1) While still relaxed, ask the client to imagine themselves in the future situation. (2) They see themselves handling it calmly and confidently, the way they would like. (3) Run it once or twice. [source: HGI rewind pages; Adams et al. 2022]
Example language (illustrative): "Now picture yourself next week getting into the car. Notice yourself calm, hands steady, pulling out of the drive."
Watch for: Anxiety in the rehearsal suggests an untreated trigger; rewind that first.

4.14 Ending and re-orientation; checking the result

Purpose / when: Stage 6, every session; then review at the next session.
Steps: (1) Return to the pleasant place, then re-orient to the present (count up, open eyes, move, orient). [source: Adams et al. 2022 ("re-oriented to the present"); method of re-alerting is synthesis] (2) Once alert, ask the client to bring the memory to mind and notice how it feels now. (3) Explain that memories may come up between sessions and are usually less charged; agree what to do (breathing, contact plan). (4) Next session: review intrusions, nightmares, avoidance and triggers; repeat rewind for residual or newly emerging memories. [synthesis] (5) Measures used in HG cohorts include IES-R or IES-E and CORE-10; the RETURN trial used CAPS-5 and PCL-5. [source: Adams et al. 2022; ISRCTN91345822]
Example language (illustrative): "Take your time coming back… feet on the floor… Now, when you think of it, what's it like?"
Watch for: The client being drowsy or spaced out at the end (do not let them leave until alert); volatile clients' state at the end of a session cannot be predicted, so have a safety plan. [source: Gajewski 2016]

4.15 Muss variant (the Rewind Technique as trialled in RETURN)

Purpose / when: Reference version when working from the Cardiff trial protocol or Muss's training.
Steps: (1) Introduce the technique and its theory. (2) The client imagines sitting in a cinema watching a recording of the event as if on CCTV, starting before the trauma and playing the usual intrusive recall (images, sounds, smells, and imagined "what could have happened next" if that is part of it). (3) At the end, the client steps into the screen. (4) The film is rewound quickly to the start. (5) Forward run no longer than about 2 minutes; rewind about 10 seconds. (6) Practise several times. Three 60-minute sessions; delivered by trained therapists under supervision; no relaxation phase in the trial. [source: ISRCTN91345822; HGI rewind pages]
Watch for: Fidelity to the trial's timings; the trial excluded the groups listed in 4.1.

4.16 Relation to the NLP fast phobia cure (entry 112)

The HG and Muss versions both derive from Bandler's visual/kinaesthetic dissociation. Shared elements: film metaphor, dissociated viewing, running the memory backwards. HG differences, per its own sources: deep relaxation before exposure and added steps to keep arousal low; the trauma template check; future rehearsal. Muss differences: cinema/CCTV framing, step into the screen, timed runs, no relaxation. NLP-specific claims belong to entry 112. [source: HGI rewind pages; Adams et al. 2022]

5. Handling problems

The HG sources say little about problem management; most guidance below is synthesis built on the HG principles of low arousal, graded distance and stabilisation, and is marked as such.

Client is emotionally cut off; memory brings no feeling. HGI: rewind cannot work if the client is cut off; reconnect them with the emotion, then relax them. [source: HGI rewind pages] Practically: ask about the most recent time they were triggered, or a sensory detail at the start of the film, and check again. If numbness persists, treat it as dissociation and stabilise before rewind. [synthesis]
Relaxation makes things worse (tearful, angry, suspicious, flooding). Gajewski reports exactly this with a complex client; she moved to role-play and later body scans rather than imagined nature scenes. [source: Gajewski 2016] Options: eyes-open relaxation, breathing only, shorter inductions; or use the Muss variant, which has no relaxation phase, if trained in it. [synthesis]
Overwhelm during the film. Pause, return to the pleasant place, add distance (back to double distancing), slow the breathing, then resume; if not settling within a few minutes, ground fully and end the session with stabilisation (4.12, 4.14). Do not finish the session mid-trauma: always land at a safe end point. [synthesis based on Adams et al. 2022]
Dissociation during rewind (blank stare, no response, "far away"). Come out of imagery: eyes open, orient to time and place, physical grounding, counting back in threes. Next time, do more stabilisation and use shorter runs with more distance. Explore dissociation as protective; "Dissociation happens for a reason". [source: Gajewski 2016 for counting task and stance; rest synthesis]
Emotion remains after many cycles. Possible reasons: start or end point not yet safe (move them); a different, linked memory is driving the feeling (identify and rewind it separately); the distress is guilt, shame, grief or moral injury rather than fear, which rewind may not shift and which needs other HG work (reframing, needs, meaning). [synthesis; HG College runs separate moral-injury and complex-trauma training] [uncertain]
Client cannot visualise. HGI says clients "see or sense" the event; use sound, body sensation or simply knowing where they are in the sequence. [source: HGI rewind pages for "see or sense"; adaptation synthesis]
Complex, childhood or repeated trauma. Expect long stabilisation and slow progress; set low early success criteria (attending, engaging); agree a session block and review (e.g. review after about six); set boundaries early; rewind discrete, clear episodes (Gajewski rewound a client's experiences in psychiatric hospitals, not his indistinct childhood) during a stable period. [source: Gajewski 2016]
New or unclear memories emerge. Treat them as the client's present experience; do not probe, suggest or use relaxation to fill gaps or establish what "really" happened. Rewind only what the client clearly recalls. [synthesis, Domain VI rule]
Self-harm or suicide risk. Follow standard risk assessment and safety planning; acute suicidal ideation was a trial exclusion. Gajewski advises treating an announced attempt as possibly a cry of distress but calling emergency services if life is at risk. [source: ISRCTN91345822; Gajewski 2016]
Non-adherence between sessions (not practising calming skills). Do not end therapy over missed homework; this can confirm the client's sense of failure. [source: Gajewski 2016] Simplify the practice and rehearse in session. [synthesis]
Ruptures, idealisation, over-dependence. Clear contracts (session length, contact limits, emergency contact), boundaries set early, idealisation explored later as relationship material. [source: Gajewski 2016]
Client fears hypnosis or losing control. Explain that relaxation is ordinary calm, they stay aware, hold the remote and can stop. Never use covert induction. [synthesis]
Client in legal proceedings or a forensic interview. Rewind does not need a narrative and aims to reduce emotional charge, but the client, and if relevant their lawyer, should know that therapy may change how the memory feels before giving evidence; document that no suggestion about content was made. [synthesis] [uncertain]
Rewind "worked" but the client is still unwell. Rewind addresses the traumatic memory; remaining depression, unmet needs (work, relationships, housing, debt) and lifestyle continue within HG therapy (see guide 029). [source: Adams et al. 2022 on HG practical needs work; synthesis]
Remote delivery. The 2023 trial used video; check privacy, an emergency contact and location, and allow extra time for re-orientation. [source: HGI rewind pages for video delivery; safeguards synthesis]
Therapist readiness. Complex trauma is "potentially very risky for inexperienced therapists"; get training (HG College Rewind workshop or Muss training) and supervision from someone who knows the client group. [source: Gajewski 2016; HGI rewind pages]

Sources

Sources:

Books and papers cited as further reading (not drawn on) [uncertain]:

Griffin J, Tyrrell I (2001). The Shackled Brain: How to Release Locked-in Patterns of Trauma. HG Publishing. (Source of the HG protocol per Adams et al.)
Griffin J, Tyrrell I (2003). Human Givens: A New Approach to Emotional Health and Clear Thinking. HG Publishing.
Muss D (1991). A new technique for treating post-traumatic stress disorder. British Journal of Clinical Psychology 30.
Bandler R, Grinder J (1979). Frogs into Princes. Real People Press.
Astill Wright L, et al. (2021). The REconsolidaTion Using RewiNd Study (RETURN): trial protocol. European Journal of Psychotraumatology.
Astill Wright L, Kitchiner N, et al. (2023). RETURN trial results. Depression and Anxiety (doi 10.1155/2023/6279649).

Further reading (not drawn on): the ACAT article "The 'Human Givens' Fast Trauma and Phobia Cure" and the ORCA PDF of the RETURN protocol.

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