125: AI, EMDR, and Attachment Informed Playing With Time with guests Mark Brayne and Rotem Brayer

Welcome to EMDR Playground, the podcast for therapists who want to integrate EMDR and play with confidence, clarity, and creativity. Hosted by Jackie Flynn, Registered Play Therapist, EMDRIA Trainer, and author of the EMDR with Kids Flipchart, this show explores how fidelity to the EMDR model, a deep understanding of the nervous system, and the language of play can transform therapy for children, teens, and adults. Each episode offers practical strategies, expert conversations, and insights you can use right away to help your clients heal more deeply. Whether you're EMDR-trained or just beginning to explore this powerful approach, EMDR Playground is your space to grow, connect, and bring more depth and effectiveness to your work. In this episode, we explore what it means to "play with time" in EMDR therapy through an attachment-informed, nervous-system-informed lens. Mark Brayne shares a playful and powerful metaphor from the 1980s movie Back to the Future. He invites us to imagine EMDR as a kind of therapeutic DeLorean. We are not going back in time to erase the past. We are going back to help the nervous system update what still feels unfinished, unsafe, or stuck. Together, Mark and Rotem Brayer explore how EMDR can help clients revisit earlier experiences with more support, more choice, and more present-day resources. This conversation brings together creativity, clinical depth, and deep respect for the nervous system. We talk about how time shows up in trauma work. The past can feel present. The future can feel blocked. The body may respond as if something old is happening right now. EMDR gives us a way to help the brain and body reconnect with the truth that the danger is over, the client has grown, and new possibilities are available. This episode also highlights the importance of playfulness in deep clinical work. Metaphor, imagery, curiosity, and imagination can help clients access healing in ways that feel less rigid and more alive. In this episode, we explore How the DeLorean metaphor helps explain EMDR Why trauma can make the past feel present How EMDR can support healing across time What it means to influence the future by updating the past How attachment-informed care shapes the EMDR process Why nervous system safety matters in trauma treatment How playful metaphor can deepen clinical understanding This conversation is especially helpful for EMDR therapists who want to think more creatively about time, memory, attachment, and healing. We also share about an upcoming training near Denver, Colorado, where we will continue exploring EMDR, attachment-informed practice, and creative clinical work.   Join us near Denver for this powerful training experience.   Add registration link: https://checkout.square.site/merchant/4182HB7JQSB2D/checkout/4OG5JUGA4FLWA2KSGHF6GQX4 Add training date here: August 27, 2026 at 8:30 AM and August 29, 2026 5:00 PM Add location details here: 6200 S Syracuse Way Greenwood Village, CO 80111