Developmental needs meeting strategy

1. Introduction

Version followed: Shirley Jean Schmidt's DNMS as published by the DNMS Institute. The main structure comes from the undated Institute overview "DNMS: What it is and How it Works", which describes three treatment phases after Resource development: stabilising reactive parts, the Conference Room Protocol and the Needs Meeting Protocol. Detail comes from Schmidt's 2009 GoodTherapy telecourse handout and from the 16-step Needs Meeting sequence in Schmidt & Hernandez (2007). Where these versions differ, the difference is flagged. The full protocol text is in Schmidt's 2009 book and the Institute's Home Study Course, and neither is drawn on here [uncertain].

The Developmental Needs Meeting Strategy (DNMS) is an ego state therapy for adults whose childhood needs went unmet. That includes trauma wounds (verbal, physical or sexual abuse) and attachment wounds (rejection, neglect, enmeshment, invalidation). Schmidt developed it in San Antonio, Texas, from 2000 and has taught it since 2002. She started from EMDR and ego state work and moved from desensitising trauma towards remediating unmet developmental needs. She later practised near Portland, Oregon. [source: Schmidt 2015 SAGE entry; whatisdnms.pdf; EMDRIA course page]

How the model says change happens: unmet needs leave parts of self stuck in childhood. The key stuck parts are maladaptive introjects. Each is an innocent child part wearing a "mask" or "costume" that replays a wounding caregiver's messages, and in the model this is a mirror-neuron recording, not a choice. Reactive parts hold the pain, coping and beliefs that formed in response. The therapist helps the client build three internal Resources from real memories: a Nurturing Adult Self, a Protective Adult Self and a Spiritual Core Self. Together the Resources form a Healing Circle and reparent the wounded parts. They meet the parts' needs one at a time, help them process anger and grief, and form an emotional bond until the parts feel "totally unstuck". Schmidt treats the bond between wounded parts and Resources as the main agent of change. In her account, meeting needs also gently desensitises traumatic material without a separate desensitisation step. Alternating bilateral stimulation (ABS), borrowed from EMDR, is optional and is used to strengthen positive states. Schmidt states that DNMS is not a form of EMDR. [source: GoodTherapy 2009 handout; Wikipedia; whatisdnms.pdf; aboutdnms.pdf]

2. Framework

DNMS repeats the same sequence for each target issue, after a one-time preparation stage. [source: aboutdnms.pdf; 2009 handout]

Stage 0: Assessment and preparation (one-time)

Goals:
- assess fit;
- explain the parts model, including the "blank slate" and mask ideas;
- set targets;
- build the three Resources with the Resource Development Protocol (guided meditations anchored in real memories), then join them as the Healing Circle.
Clients not ready for a full team can start with simpler "Provisional Resources". [source: aboutdnms.pdf; whatisdnms.pdf; 2007 case studies]
Target selection has two published versions:
- 2007: a problem statement, its negative beliefs and an ego state map listing caregiver messages, reactive parts, introjects and 0–10 "stuck" ratings. [source: 2007 case studies]
- 2009: an Attachment Needs Ladder questionnaire with four rungs in order of importance: Existence, Basic Safety, Sense of Self, Relationship to Others. The client rates the beliefs on one rung at a time, and every belief rated above zero becomes the target. [source: 2009 handout]
Move on when: the client accepts the parts concept, the Resources (or Provisional Resources) feel real, and the client is stable enough for in-session work. The study readiness criteria are listed under 4.1. [source: 2007; aboutdnms.pdf]

Phase 1: Stabilising reactive parts

Goals:
- invite the most upset reactive parts first, then welcome and validate them and hear their story;
- have the Resources reassure them, correct misunderstandings and supply missing information;
- orient them to the present and to the adult body;
- help them see they are reacting to a recording, not a live threat;
- turn controlling parts into allies.
Move on when: the reactive parts for the target are calmer and oriented. [source: aboutdnms.pdf; EMDRIA course pages]
Version note: the 2007 article's footnote says DNMS then targeted introjects only. The later Institute overview adds this phase back for reactive parts. [uncertain about dates]

Phase 2: Conference Room Protocol, including Switching the Dominance

Goals: the reactive parts for one ladder rung or issue each identify the introject they react to across a table. The full wounding message is written down, and the dominance is switched so the costume shrinks.
Move on when: both the reactive parts and the introjects feel much less stuck, and the internal disturbance about the issue has substantially calmed. The parts from that room are then selected for Phase 3. [source: 2009 handout; aboutdnms.pdf]

Phase 3: Needs Meeting Protocol

Goals: inside the Healing Circle, the Resources meet each unmet need one at a time and process each painful emotion one at a time, then strengthen a bond with the wounded parts. A typical sequence has about 16 structured steps, ending with a pendulation check, a positive belief and "tuck in". It usually takes 2–4 hours, and 15–30 needs are typically met. [source: aboutdnms.pdf; 2007 case studies]
End when the published signs are present:
- the part wants to play;
- the costume is gone;
- memories and beliefs no longer disturb;
- the body is calm and the client appears happy;
- the part reports being "totally" unstuck;
- the problem and belief re-ratings reach 0.

Follow-up and repeat

Check three things:
- whether the introject's messages still disturb;
- whether the ladder beliefs still feel true;
- whether the issue still feels like a problem.
Then take the next rung or issue. Phases 1–3 repeat until the therapy goals are met. [source: 2009 handout; aboutdnms.pdf]

Session format and dose

Individual adult therapy, usually weekly. Longer sessions are used, typically 90 minutes, with some up to 150–180 minutes.
In the 2007 cases, 2–3 targets took between 3 and 22 sessions per client. Completion was faster with longer sessions, more session time spent on DNMS, fast processing and few processing blocks.
DNMS is not short-term overall. Its length depends on ego strength, the number of unmet needs, the Resources available and the client's goals. Dissociative and low-functioning clients take longer: the 2004 DID case ran 17 months.
Older adolescents may be suitable, according to a secondary source. [source: 2007 case studies; 2009 handout; whatisdnms.pdf; Shapiro Library abstract of Schmidt 2004; GoodTherapy overview]

3. Guiding principles

[source for this section: 2009 handout; aboutdnms.pdf; whatisdnms.pdf; 2007 case studies; EMDRIA course pages, unless tagged otherwise]

Strengths-based and client-centred. Assume the adult client already has caregiving skills. Your job is to mobilise them, not to supply them yourself.
Resources must be real parts of self. Anchor every Resource in an actual remembered experience, so the client does not treat it as an imagined helper.
The Resources do the reparenting. Talk directly to child parts and broker the dialogue between parts and Resources. You do not become the parent. The bond between the parts and the Resources is what heals.
Every wounded part is innocent. Speak to an introject as a good child under a costume, never as the abuser.
The wounding is a recording, not a live threat. Use this reframe again and again, with both reactive parts and introject children.
Introjects are the primary targets. Healing the introject relieves the reactive parts that were reacting to it.
Meet needs rather than desensitise. Expect painful material to soften as needs are met. Avoid long abreactions.
One at a time. Meet one need, process one emotion and work on one rung or issue at a time, and verify with 0–10 ratings before moving on.
Structure and order matter. The protocols are "very structured", each step following from the last, and the stabilising interventions work best together and in the right order.
Stabilise the most upset parts first. Welcome, validate, hear the story, and then orient to the present and to the adult body.
Controlling parts are potential allies. Build rapport with parts that sabotage therapy instead of fighting them.
ABS is optional and strengthens positives. Use it to strengthen connection, met needs, bonds and positive beliefs, never to strengthen distress. Let the client choose the form. Sessions without ABS have also worked.
Spirituality without dogma. The Spiritual Core Self does not require belief in God.
Respect fit. Do not push DNMS on clients who reject the parts concept or are committed to another modality. Basic needs come first, such as personal-safety help.
Scope. DNMS addresses the part of a symptom driven by introject messages. It does not treat symptoms that come from medical, nutritional, hormonal or temperamental causes; refer for medical assessment.
Measure. Have the client rate problems and beliefs 0–10 and complete a brief progress report at each session start, and re-rate at the end of each target.
Memories are the client's experience [synthesis, from the Domain VI standard]. Work with what parts report as their felt experience, and never use the Resources or imagery to search for or "confirm" unremembered events.

4. Intervention inventory

The inventory follows the treatment order. The sources name each protocol and its main moves, but the full scripts are only in the book and the Home Study Course, which are not drawn on. So the step detail below is the most granular the sources give, plus clearly tagged [synthesis] for the practical connecting steps. All example language is illustrative wording, not Schmidt's.

4.1 Assessment, suitability screening and target selection

Purpose: decide whether DNMS fits, and choose targets.
When to use: at intake, and again before each new target.
Steps:
1. Take an initial assessment interview covering current problems, developmental and attachment history, prior therapy and current stability. [source: 2007; GoodTherapy overview]
2. Screen for fit. Poor fit includes clients who reject the idea of parts, clients committed to another method who will not discuss DNMS, clients who first need basic help such as personal-safety or career help, and problems that are not driven by unmet developmental needs (for example medical, nutritional, hormonal or temperamental causes). [source: 2009 handout; 2007]
3. Note how stable the client is, using the 2007 study exclusions as a practical gauge. In the study, these features made processing slow or hard: being overwhelmed by neutral stimuli or small triggers, being unable to self-soothe after a trigger, emotional instability, irregular attendance, and needing much session time for current crises. The authors say only the "not a developmental-needs problem" criterion applies to routine practice. Treat the rest as signs that more stabilisation or Provisional Resources should come first [synthesis]. [source: 2007]
4. Agree 1–3 target problems. Ask the client to rate each problem's severity and how true each negative belief feels, both 0–10. The 2007 study used Greenwald's Problem Rating Scale for this. [source: 2007]
5. Screen for a dissociative disorder, suicide risk and current abuse before parts work [synthesis]. Dissociative clients take longer, and a DID case was treated over 17 months. [source: 2009 handout; Schmidt 2004 abstract]
Example language (illustrative): "Let's choose the two or three patterns that cost you most. For each one, how big a problem is it today, from 0 to 10?"
Watch for: current crises taking over the sessions, very low distress tolerance, and dissociative symptoms you have not yet assessed.

4.2 Psychoeducation: parts, the "blank slate" and the mask

Purpose: give the client a framework that makes the protocols make sense and reduces shame.
When to use: before Resource work, and briefly again before Conference Room work.
Steps:
1. Explain that a mind has parts: healthy parts form from attuned care, and wounded parts formed from abuse, neglect, rejection or enmeshment and are stuck in the past.
2. Distinguish reactive parts (pain, coping, beliefs) from introjects (parts that mimic a wounding caregiver).
3. Explain the "blank slate" idea. A child with a good true nature absorbs a caregiver's message as a mask or costume that does not fit, and cannot take it off alone. In the model this happens automatically, like a mirror-neuron recording.
4. Explain that healing comes from the client's own Resources meeting what the child parts missed. [source: 2009 handout; 2007; whatisdnms.pdf]
Example language (illustrative): "The harsh voice in your head may be a young part of you that is still wearing your father's critical tone like a costume. Underneath, it's a child who never chose it."
Watch for: the client equating the introject with the real parent, or feeling blamed ("so I'm the abuser"). Correct this by stressing that the child under the mask is innocent.

4.3 Resource Development: Nurturing Adult Self

Purpose: build the first Resource, a part of self that knows how to nurture.
When to use: during preparation, before any work with wounded parts.
Steps:
1. Ask for a real memory of nurturing a loved one effortlessly: a child, a grandchild, a pet, a plant or a helpless person. One published example is caring for a grandson through an illness. [source: 2009 handout; aboutdnms.pdf]
2. Review the caregiver skills the client used. The Institute works from a list of 24 caregiver skills, which is not reproduced in the sources [uncertain].
3. Lead a brief guided meditation anchored in that memory, so the client feels the nurturing state now.
4. Strengthen the felt state with brief sets of ABS if the client has chosen to use it. [source: 2007; whatisdnms.pdf]
5. Help the client recognise this as a real part of self that is available now [synthesis, based on the source principle].
Example language (illustrative): "Go back to the night you sat with your grandson while he was sick. Notice how naturally you knew what he needed. That knowing is a part of you. Let yourself feel it here now."
Watch for: no available memory (try pets, plants, friends, or helping a stranger), a memory contaminated by later grief or conflict (choose another), and an intellectual rather than felt connection (slow down and add sensory detail) [synthesis].

4.4 Resource Development: Protective Adult Self

Purpose: build a part of self that protects.
When to use: during preparation, after the Nurturing Adult Self.
Steps: use the same structure as 4.3, anchored in a real memory of protecting a loved one. One published example is rushing a grandson to hospital. Lead a guided meditation, then strengthen with ABS. [source: 2009 handout; aboutdnms.pdf]
Example language (illustrative): "Remember the moment you stepped in and got him to help. Feel that clear, firm energy in your body. That is your Protective Adult Self."
Watch for: confusing protection with aggression or rage. Aim for calm, firm and effective [synthesis].

4.5 Resource Development: Spiritual Core Self

Purpose: build a Resource that holds qualities such as safety, acceptance, interconnectedness and non-judgement.
When to use: during preparation, as the third Resource.
Steps:
1. Find a time the client briefly felt this state, for example during meditation, prayer, a retreat or a peak experience. One published example is a church retreat. [source: 2009 handout; aboutdnms.pdf]
2. Lead a guided meditation to re-access the state. Belief in God is not required.
3. Strengthen with ABS. [source: whatisdnms.pdf]
Example language (illustrative): "Recall a moment when you felt deeply at peace and connected to something larger, in whatever way that happens for you. Let that quality fill you now."
Watch for: religious trauma, where the client may need a secular framing such as nature or awe, and clients who cannot find any such moment (consider Provisional Resources, 4.7) [synthesis].

4.6 Forming the Healing Circle

Purpose: join the three Resources into a team that will later hold the wounded parts.
When to use: once all three Resources feel real.
Steps:
1. Invite the three Resources to come together.
2. Let the client sense or picture them as a circle or team.
3. Strengthen the felt sense of the team with ABS. Wounded parts are only invited inside later, in Phase 3. [source: 2009 handout; aboutdnms.pdf; 2007]
Example language (illustrative): "Let your Nurturing Self, Protective Self and Spiritual Core Self come together. Notice how it feels to have all three present at once."
Watch for: a Resource that feels weaker than the others. Re-anchor it before going on [synthesis].
Version note: later DNMS teaching describes Resources that are "loving, attuned, and vetted". The vetting procedure is not described in the sources [uncertain]. [source: EMDRIA course pages]

4.7 Provisional Resources

Purpose: offer a simpler, quicker set of Resources for clients who are not ready to establish the full team.
When to use: with fragile, low-functioning or highly dissociative clients, or when the full meditations fail.
Steps: the sources name this option but give no procedure [uncertain]. [source: aboutdnms.pdf]
Practical approach [synthesis]: use the same anchoring logic with whatever caring adult state the client can reach today. Strengthen it briefly, and return to the full three Resources later.
Watch for: relying on external figures only. The DNMS principle is that Resources are parts of self.

4.8 Alternating bilateral stimulation (ABS): setup and use

Purpose: speed and deepen the strengthening of positive states and connections.
When to use: at key points in every protocol, and only for positive material.
Steps:
1. Offer the options: eye movements, alternating tactile stimulation (Schmidt holds the patent on the TheraTapper device) or alternating auditory stimulation. Most clients prefer tactile or auditory, so their eyes can stay closed. [source: 2009 handout; whatisdnms.pdf; EMDRIA course page]
2. Use ABS to strengthen: the Resources, the child part's sense of connection and safety, each met need, the bond, the benefits of adulthood and the new positive belief.
3. Continue each set until the client reports the experience is "strengthened all the way". The number and length of sets are not specified. [source: 2007]
4. Drop ABS if the client dislikes it. Sessions without it have also worked.
Example language (illustrative): "As your Nurturing Self holds her, I'll start the tappers. Just notice the connection getting stronger, and tell me when it feels as strong as it can get."
Watch for: ABS pulling the client into distressing associations [synthesis]. If that happens, stop the set and return attention to the Resources.

4.9 Attachment Needs Ladder (2009 targeting)

Purpose: find attachment wounds by locating which negative beliefs feel true, in order of developmental priority. These wounds are often about good experiences that were missing (attention, attunement, boundaries) rather than bad events.
When to use: to choose and sequence targets.
Steps:
1. Give the client the Institute questionnaire. It lists negative beliefs grouped into four rungs: Existence, Basic Safety, Sense of Self, Relationship to Others. The items are not reproduced here.
2. Work one rung at a time, starting from the lowest rung that has endorsed beliefs. The client rates each belief 0–10 for how true it feels, especially in vulnerable moments.
3. Every belief rated above 0 on that rung becomes the target for the Conference Room and Needs Meeting work.
4. After treatment, re-rate the rung. The expected result is that the beliefs no longer feel true. [source: 2009 handout]
Example language (illustrative): "Read each statement and notice how true it feels in your gut when you're at your most vulnerable, not what you think is true."
Watch for: intellectual ratings. Ask for felt truth.

4.10 Ego state map (2007 targeting)

Purpose: lay out the parts behind one problem.
When to use: as the alternative way to set targets, or alongside the ladder.
Steps:
1. Write the problem statement at the top of the map and the negative beliefs below it.
2. Identify (a) the caregiver messages that inspired the problem, (b) the reactive parts that formed in response, (c) the introjects that mimic those messages, and (d) how stuck each reactive part is, 0–10, in relation to its introject's message.
3. Explain the blank-slate idea while mapping.
4. Re-rate the whole map at the end of the target. [source: 2007]
Example language (illustrative): "What did your mother's face and voice tell you when you cried? ... And which young part of you still flinches at that?"
Watch for: one problem nested inside another. One 2007 case needed six maps. When the maps overlap, consider processing the linked introjects together, which was a later refinement. [source: 2007]

4.11 Phase 1: Stabilising reactive parts

Purpose: calm the most upset reactive parts before working with introjects, and bring them "out of trance" into the present.
When to use: at the start of each target, and any time a reactive part floods during a session.
Steps: [source: aboutdnms.pdf; EMDRIA course pages]
1. With the Resources present, invite the most upset reactive parts linked to the target to come forward.
2. Welcome them, validate them, and let them tell their story at their own pace.
3. Have the Resources reassure them, clear up misunderstandings and supply missing information. Examples are that the danger is over and that it was not their fault [the examples are synthesis].
4. Orient the parts to the present date and to the adult body they now live in.
5. Help them see that the feeling of reliving the event is a harmless recording playing back, not a live threat.
6. Use rapport-building with any controlling parts (see 4.12).
7. Check how calm each part is before moving on, for example with a 0–10 distress rating [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Little one, thank you for coming. Your Resources want to hear what happened ... It makes sense you've been on guard. Look around: it's 2026, and you're living in a grown woman's body now. What you've been feeling is like an old recording replaying. It can't hurt you now."
Watch for: the part not believing it is in the present (show it the adult hands, the room, the date) and a story deepening into full re-experiencing (slow down, keep the Resources close). It is working when the part's distress and body tension drop and it can look at the Resources.

4.12 Rapport-building with controlling parts

Purpose: turn parts that block or sabotage therapy into allies.
When to use: when therapy stalls, sessions are derailed, or a part warns, threatens or refuses.
Steps:
1. The sources name rapport-building interventions but do not list them [uncertain]. [source: aboutdnms.pdf]
2. Practical approach [synthesis]:
  - speak to the controlling part directly and respectfully;
  - ask what it fears would happen if the work went ahead;
  - acknowledge its protective intent;
  - agree on pacing and give it a veto or "pause" role;
  - invite it to watch from a safe distance.
Example language (illustrative): "It sounds like you've worked very hard to keep her from getting hurt again. What are you worried would happen if we let the little one talk to her Resources?"
Watch for: the session "going blank", sleepiness, sudden topic shifts or the client dismissing the work. These may come from a controlling part [synthesis].

4.13 Conference Room Protocol

Purpose: link each reactive part to the introject it reacts to, and calm both.
When to use: Phase 2, once for each ladder rung or target issue.
Steps: [source: 2009 handout; aboutdnms.pdf]
1. Have the client picture the Resources in a conference room with a table and chairs.
2. Invite the reactive parts that endorse that rung's beliefs to sit on one side of the table.
3. Ask the most upset reactive part to look across the table and see whom it is reacting to. The figure that appears looks like the wounding person, but it is the introject's costume.
4. Guide the part to state the full wounding message, both verbal and nonverbal. Write it down.
5. Turn attention to the child wearing the costume and switch the dominance (4.14).
6. Repeat with the next most upset reactive part until every reactive part has identified its introject and each switch is complete.
7. Record which introjects and reactive parts were in the room. They are the group selected for the Needs Meeting Protocol.
Example language (illustrative): "Your Resources are seated in the room. Invite the parts who feel 'I shouldn't exist' to take the chairs on this side ... Which one is most upset? Let it look across the table. Who does it see? What is that figure saying, in words and without words?"
Watch for: fear of facing the figure (keep the Protective Self beside the part) and a part seeing several figures (take them one at a time). It is working when the whole room feels much less disturbed about the target issue.

4.14 Switching the Dominance Protocol

Purpose: calm and quiet an introject's wounding messages by shifting dominance from the mask to the child underneath.
When to use:
- inside the Conference Room;
- on its own, for quick relief of an emotional overreaction;
- to help with processing blocks.
Steps: [source: 2009 handout; aboutdnms.pdf]
1. Start with the mask dominant, as the client perceives it.
2. Speak to the child under the mask.
3. Work through a series of mini-interventions, given as a series of questions, that help the child see the mask as a recording of a wounding person, not a real threat. The specific questions are not in the sources [uncertain].
4. As the child understands this, the mask looks smaller and less important.
5. Continue until the mask is small enough for the child to pocket what remains and feel in control of it for the first time. This is the switch.
6. Check the reactive part's response. The published outcome is that both parts feel much less stuck.
Example language (illustrative): "I'd like to talk to the child underneath that costume. How old are you? ... Did you choose to wear this? ... What happens to its size as you realise it's only a recording?"
- A child's typical response in the source is "I don't like this mask!". [source: 2009 handout]
Watch for: relief is often immediate. It can last weeks or until the next stressor, but it is usually partial. Follow with the Needs Meeting Protocol to complete healing. If the mask does not shrink, see Section 5.

4.15 Needs Meeting Protocol: overview

Purpose: unstick the selected wounded parts completely. The Resources meet their developmental needs, help them process painful emotions and build a lasting bond.
When to use: Phase 3, with the introjects (and, in the later version, the reactive parts) that completed Phases 1–2 for the target.
Structure: the sequence below follows Schmidt & Hernandez (2007), as items 4.15a–m, and is described as "very structured".
- The Institute describes the full protocol as having about 20 steps. Not all are listed in the sources [uncertain].
- It typically takes 2–4 hours, often across more than one session. Close each interim session with a brief tuck-in (4.15l) and resume where you left off [the closing practice is synthesis].
Version notes:
- The 2007 article followed one introject through the protocol.
- Later refinements process all the introjects tied to one problem together, and address attachment needs in order of importance.
- The later Institute overview invites both introjects and reactive parts that completed Phases 1–2.
- [source: 2007; aboutdnms.pdf; 2009 handout]

4.15a Invitation into the Healing Circle

Steps:
1. Invite the introject, mask still on, to approach the Resources and then enter the Healing Circle.
2. Ask the child under the mask its age and mood.
3. Bring the child into the circle with the mask. [source: 2007]
Example language (illustrative): "Your Resources are inviting the little one in the costume to come closer ... How old is she? How is she feeling right now?"
Watch for: reluctance or fear of being judged. Let the Protective Self reassure the child, and let the child come at its own pace [synthesis].

4.15b Strengthening connection and safety

Steps:
1. Have the child notice the Resources' care.
2. Ask how connected and safe it feels.
3. Strengthen with ABS until it reports feeling strongly connected. [source: 2007]
Example language (illustrative): "Notice your Resources are glad you're here. How safe do you feel with them, from a little to a lot? ... Let that grow."

4.15c Needs-meeting loop

Purpose: provide the missing developmental experiences, one at a time.
Steps:
1. Ask the child what it needs most right now.
2. Check that the Resources can meet that need now.
3. Have the Resources meet it while the client feels it being received, and strengthen with ABS.
4. Ask for the next need and repeat. Typical needs include safety, love, attunement, nurturing, validation, acceptance, kindness and respect. Usually 15–30 needs are met. [source: 2007; 2009 handout]
Example language (illustrative): "What does she need most from her Resources right now? ... Can your Nurturing Self give her that? Let her take it in ... What does she need next?"
Watch for:
- a need the Resources say they cannot meet. Explore it, or ask which Resource can [synthesis].
- a need aimed at the real parent, such as "I need Mum to say sorry". Reframe it as the underlying need the Resources can meet now, such as being believed or valued [synthesis].

4.15d Anger-processing loop

Purpose: work through the child's anger without a long abreaction.
Steps:
1. Ask the child to rate its anger 0–10.
2. Link the anger to a specific thing the caregiver did.
3. Identify the need that behaviour left unmet, and have the Resources meet it, with ABS.
4. Re-rate the anger.
5. Repeat until it reaches 0. In one 2007 case, anger fell from 8 to 0 "gently, easily, and without lengthy, painful abreactions". [source: 2007]
Example language (illustrative): "How angry is she, 0 to 10? ... What is she most angry about? ... When he did that, what did she need instead? Let the Resources give her that ... Now how angry, 0 to 10?"

4.15e Sadness-processing loop

Steps: the same as 4.15d, for sadness or grief. [source: 2007]
Example language (illustrative): "How much sadness is left, 0 to 10? What is it most sad about? What did she miss?"
Watch for: grief that stays high. The cause may be a loss that has no single "need" linked to it. Let the Resources simply hold and accompany her until it eases [synthesis].

4.15f Mask check

Steps: ask how the mask looks now and how the child's mood is. The expected sequence is that the mask shrinks and loses importance, then disappears, and the child looks calmer and happier. [source: 2007]
Example language (illustrative): "Look at the costume now. What's happened to it? How does she seem?"

4.15g Bonding

Steps: strengthen an emotional bond with each Resource on its own, then with the three as a group, using ABS. [source: 2007; 2009 handout]
Example language (illustrative): "Let her feel the bond with your Nurturing Self ... now your Protective Self ... now your Spiritual Core Self ... now all three together."

4.15h Unstuck check

Steps: ask whether the child feels "somewhat", "mostly" or "totally" unstuck. If not totally, go back to the needs and emotions loops. [source: 2007]

4.15i Pendulation check

Purpose: test whether the gains hold without the Resources present.
Steps:
1. Have the child step briefly out of the circle and away from the Resources.
2. Have it revisit the old caregiving environment.
3. Rate any disturbance.
4. Return the child to the Resources and meet needs until the disturbance is gone.
5. Repeat the check if needed. [source: 2007]
Example language (illustrative): "Let her step out for a moment and glance back at the house she grew up in ... How disturbing is it, 0 to 10? ... Come back to the circle. What does she need?"
Watch for: a high rating means the work is unfinished, or that another introject is involved (see Section 5).

4.15j Orientation to the adult body

Steps:
1. Ask whether the child knows it now lives in an adult body.
2. Explore the benefits of adulthood, such as choice, freedom and the ability to leave, and strengthen them with ABS. [source: 2007; aboutdnms.pdf]
Example language (illustrative): "Does she know she lives in a grown-up body now? What can a grown-up do that she couldn't do back then?"

4.15k Positive belief

Steps: ask what positive belief the child now holds, and strengthen it with ABS until it feels totally true. [source: 2007]
Example language (illustrative): "What does she believe about herself now? ... How true does that feel? Let it strengthen."

4.15l Tuck-in

Steps: settle the child comfortably with the Resources at the end of the work. [source: 2007]
Example language (illustrative): "Let her settle in with her Resources, somewhere comfortable, knowing they'll stay with her."
Note [synthesis]: use a brief version of the tuck-in at the end of every unfinished session too.

4.15m Re-rating

Steps:
1. Return to the map or ladder and re-rate the problem, the beliefs and the stuck ratings. The 2007 cases moved from 7–10 to 0.
2. Note the signs that the target is finished: the part wants to play, the costume is gone, the memories and beliefs no longer disturb, and the body is calm. [source: 2007; aboutdnms.pdf]

4.16 Follow-up verification and next target

Purpose: confirm that the target has resolved and choose the next one.
When to use: at the next session after a Needs Meeting Protocol, and at later follow-ups.
Steps:
1. Ask three questions:
  - does the introject's message still disturb?
  - do the ladder statements still feel true?
  - does the issue still feel like a problem?
  - The expected answer to each is "no".
2. Have the client complete the brief progress report the 2007 study used at each session start.
3. Note any generalisation. In three 2007 cases, one target resolved others.
4. Move to the next rung or issue. [source: 2009 handout; 2007]
Watch for: a slight return of symptoms at follow-up (seen in two of the eight cases at 5 months). Re-assess for a linked introject.

4.17 Clearing processing blocks

Purpose: free the process when it stalls.
When to use: when ratings stop dropping, a part refuses, or nothing changes.
Steps:
- The sources say discrete interventions exist for clearing blocks, and that blocks are usually clearable, sometimes slowly. The interventions are only in the book and the course [uncertain]. [source: 2009 handout; whatisdnms.pdf; aboutdnms.pdf]
- Switching the Dominance is named as one aid for processing blocks. [source: 2009 handout]
- For the practical options, see Section 5 [synthesis].

4.18 Linking a Resource to an external anchor (practitioner adaptation)

Purpose: make a Resource easier to reach between sessions.
When to use: after Resource development.
Steps: a German DNMS practitioner, Caroline Schröder, recommends that the client choose a scent, an object or a piece of music to link with the Resource (in her words: "einen Duft, einen Gegenstand oder ein Musikstück"). The detailed steps were not available, and this is a practitioner's teaching rather than Schmidt's published protocol [uncertain]. [source: podcast.de episode]
Example language (illustrative): "Choose something you can smell, hold or hear that reminds you of your Nurturing Self. We'll pair it with the feeling now."
Watch for: an anchor that turns into a talisman used only to avoid distress, rather than a way back to the Resource [synthesis].

5. Handling problems

The sources name several difficulties but give few concrete fixes, because the troubleshooting interventions are in the book and the course. Each item says what is sourced. Unmarked responses are [synthesis].

Readiness and selection

Client is unstable, in crisis, or easily overwhelmed by small triggers.
- Sourced: these features made DNMS slow in the 2007 study, and clients needing basic safety help should get it first. [source: 2007; 2009 handout]
- Response: put Needs Meeting work on hold. Do safety planning and practical help, Provisional Resources, and Phase 1 stabilisation of the most upset parts in short doses. Resume when the client can self-soothe after a trigger within the session.
Client rejects the idea of parts, or wants another method.
- Sourced: poor fit. Do not push DNMS. [source: 2009 handout]
- Response: offer a non-parts framing of the same goals ("the younger you", "the part of you that feels small"). If that does not land, use another approach.
Suicidality or self-harm.
- Respond with standard risk assessment and safety planning, including lethal-means counselling (safe storage and removal) when indicated. Pause parts work while risk is acute.
- Self-punishing parts may be reactive parts. Once the client is safe, work with them in Phase 1 rather than ignoring them.
- Coordinate with crisis services.

Resource problems

Client cannot form, or does not feel, a Resource.
- Sourced: anchoring in real memories is meant to stop Resources feeling imaginary, and Provisional Resources are the simpler option. [source: aboutdnms.pdf; whatisdnms.pdf]
- Secondary source: a felt sense, body sensations or emotions can stand in for visual images. [source: GoodTherapy overview]
- Response: try smaller nurturing moments (a pet or a plant), work with one Resource at a time, and do not move on until the Resource is felt.
Spiritual Core Self is aversive (religious trauma, or atheism).
- Sourced: belief in God is not required. [source: whatisdnms.pdf]
- Response: anchor the Resource in moments of awe, nature, music or deep calm.
A Resource is "contaminated". For example, the nurturing memory involves a person who later hurt the client, or the protective memory turns into rage. Choose a different anchor memory.

Processing problems

Processing blocks: ratings stall, or a part freezes or refuses.
- Sourced: blocks are common in some clients, are usually clearable but sometimes slowly, and Switching the Dominance can help. [source: 2007; whatisdnms.pdf; 2009 handout]
- Response, in this order:
  1. Check whether a controlling part objects (4.12).
  2. Check for an unidentified introject. Go back to the Conference Room.
  3. Check that the Resources are strong enough. Re-anchor them.
  4. Check whether the need is aimed at the real parent rather than the Resources.
  5. Shorten the step and strengthen what has already shifted.
Mask will not shrink. Return to the child underneath. Ask whether it fears what would happen without the mask, for example that the caregiver would reject it. Meet that fear with the Protective Self before continuing.
Part is only "mostly" unstuck, or the pendulation check stays high.
- Sourced: in one 2007 case, two reactive parts stayed partly stuck until a later introject was treated. [source: 2007]
- Response: map the other introjects linked to the problem, and treat them, together where they are linked.
Fear of the process slows progress.
- Sourced. [source: whatisdnms.pdf]
- Response: name the fear as coming from a part, explain the steps ahead of time, and give the client control over pacing and stop signals.
Fear-paralysed reactive parts.
- Sourced: when desensitisation had paralysed a client's parts with fear, the Healing Circle gave them a needed "container". [source: 2007]
- Response: keep the parts inside the circle and do Resource-based needs meeting before any memory focus.

Overwhelm and dissociation (trauma-safety standard)

Overwhelm or abreaction during a session.
1. Stop ABS.
2. Bring the Protective and Nurturing Selves close to the part.
3. Orient to the present: the date, the room, the adult body, the "recording" reframe.
4. Ground through the senses.
5. Lower the dose: one need at a time, ratings every few minutes.
6. Close with the tuck-in.
- DNMS's stated aim is gentle processing without long abreactions. Prolonged high distress means you have left the protocol. [source for that aim: 2007]
Dissociative shifts, switching or losing time.
- Sourced: dissociative clients take longer, and a DID client was treated over 17 months. [source: 2009 handout; Schmidt 2004 abstract]
- Response: assess with a validated dissociation measure, and work within ISSTD-style phased care. Keep sessions shorter, get agreement among parts before Phase 2, and get specialist consultation.
Between-session destabilisation. Teach brief access to the Resources or the Healing Circle, with an external anchor if useful (4.18). Arrange check-ins, and end each session with containment and a tuck-in.
Memory content.
- Do not use Conference Room imagery or the Resources to "find out what happened".
- Treat what parts show as subjective experience.
- If new trauma "memories" emerge, do not confirm or deny them, and avoid leading questions.

Adherence and the therapeutic relationship

Non-adherence or irregular attendance.
- Sourced: sessions more than 4 weeks apart and irregular attendance were study exclusions. [source: 2007]
- Response: agree a regular schedule, and avoid opening a Needs Meeting Protocol you cannot continue within a week or two. Plan longer sessions for Phase 3.
Session time consumed by current crises. Give the crisis a time box at the start of the session (debrief), then go back to the protocol. If crises keep taking over, the client may need a stabilisation phase first.
Ruptures, for example the client feels you sided with the "parent", or the protocol feels mechanical.
- Name the rupture and validate it, from both you and the client's Resources.
- Explain again that the introject is an innocent child, not the parent.
- Slow the structure down.
- Ask which part was hurt by the misattunement and attend to it.
Dependence on the therapist as the parent. Keep handing the caregiving back to the client's Resources. That is how DNMS defines its change mechanism. [source: Wikipedia; 2009 handout]
Medical or other non-developmental symptoms.
- Sourced: DNMS does not treat symptoms from medical, nutritional, hormonal or temperamental causes. It can only relieve the share that introject messages add. [source: 2009 handout]
- Response: refer for medical assessment.
Evidence status. The published support is case studies only. Tell clients plainly that DNMS has not been tested in controlled trials when you seek informed consent. [source: Wikipedia; GoodTherapy overview]

Sources

Sources:

Books and articles cited:

Schmidt, S. J. (2009). The Developmental Needs Meeting Strategy: An Ego State Therapy for Healing Adults with Childhood Trauma and Attachment Wounds. San Antonio: DNMS Institute. [uncertain].
Schmidt, S. J. (2004). Developmental Needs Meeting Strategy: A new treatment approach applied to dissociative identity disorder. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 5(4), 55–78. Only the abstract is drawn on.
Schmidt, S. J., & Hernandez, A. (2007). The Developmental Needs Meeting Strategy: Eight case studies. Traumatology, 13(1), 27–48.
Schmidt, S. J. (2015). Developmental needs meeting strategy. In The SAGE Encyclopedia of Theory in Counseling and Psychotherapy (pp. 289–292). Sage.

Further reading (not drawn on): the DNMS Institute workshop and webinar pages. The Home Study Course and the full Resource Development and block-clearing protocols are not drawn on.

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