How MEMI Transforms Trauma Fast: Full-Field Eye Movement Therapy Explained | ANEW Insight Ep 127

In this illuminating episode of The ANEW Insight Podcast, Dr. Supatra Tovar welcomes trauma psychologist and Multichannel Eye Movement Integration (MEMI) pioneer, Dr. H Haugen, for an in-depth conversation that bridges neuroscience, psychology, and compassion.

Dr. Haugen — affectionately known as Dr. H — has an extraordinary background that blends data analytics, leadership consulting, and trauma psychology. After earning her MBA from Columbia University and a PhD in psychology specializing in trauma and spirituality, she now dedicates her work to helping trauma survivors heal through advanced eye-movement therapies.

This first part of the conversation traces Dr. H’s inspiring journey from corporate consulting in Washington D.C. to the front lines of trauma care at the VA, where she worked with veterans struggling with PTSD, substance use, and brain injuries. Her story is one of rediscovering purpose and returning to her early passion for helping others heal from pain, adversity, and disconnection.

Dr. Tovar and Dr. H unpack the emotional and relational foundations of trauma therapy — why empathy, presence, and attunement often matter more than any technique. Dr. H shares that true healing begins when people feel fully seen, respected, and safe, and that mindfulness and deep listening can be just as powerful as structured interventions.

Listeners will also gain a clear, research-based understanding of evidence-based trauma treatments such as Prolonged Exposure (PE), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and Trauma-Focused CBT. Dr. H explains how these approaches work — and why they often fall short for clients who cannot verbalize traumatic memories or tolerate long sessions of exposure.

From there, the episode introduces MEMI (Multichannel Eye Movement Integration) — a groundbreaking therapy that uses the entire visual field to help the brain release trauma. Unlike EMDR, which typically moves side to side, MEMI integrates movement across all directions of the visual field, disrupting fixed neural pathways and calming the limbic system — the part of the brain that controls emotional memory and fear response.

Dr. H’s clinical results are astonishing. Many clients experience major breakthroughs in as little as one session. MEMI works without requiring verbal retelling of trauma, instead focusing on sensory and somatic cues such as color, sound, and body sensations. This approach allows healing to occur neurologically and organically, reducing distress without retraumatization.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in trauma recovery, neuropsychology, or innovative therapeutic methods that go beyond talk therapy. It offers both professionals and survivors a rare glimpse into the next frontier of trauma healing — one that integrates compassion, science, and the body’s own wisdom.

If you’ve ever felt that traditional talk therapy wasn’t enough, or wondered how modern neuroscience is reshaping trauma treatment, this episode will transform how you think about healing.

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Transcript

0:00 dr--supatra-tovar_1_10-01-2025_105915: 0:01

So happy to see you too. I'm so excited to interview Dr. H. I met her at the, uh, uh, American Psychological Association Conference in my home state of Colorado, um, uh, earlier in August, and was so impressed by this new type of therapy called MEMI or Multichannel Eye Movement Integration therapy. And so I really wanted to have her come on board so that we could learn more about her and about this really interesting therapy for trauma. So before we get into our questions, I'm gonna read just a little bit about Dr. H and then we will dive right in. Dr. Maria Gear Haugen known by many as Dr. H, is a trauma psychologist with a unique background in spanning mental health research, consulting, and clinical care. She has dedicated her career to helping trauma survivors find healing and resilience. After successful work in consulting and earning her MBA for from Columbia University, she shifted her focus to psychology earning her PhD with a specialization in trauma and spirituality. Dr. H has served veterans with PTSD at the VA, worked with children and adults facing trauma and developed innovative healing approaches including multi-channel eye movement integration or MEMI. Today she trains providers and works directly with clients to help them recover from adversity with compassion and clarity.

dr--maria-gear-haugen_1_10-01-2025_135915: 0:03

You know, it really has been a journey and in a way it's been a circle because I did start with psychology as an undergrad. I was a double major in psychology and theology. And so those threads are moving through my life. Uh, and after I did research for a while, I got really interested in data analytics. And focused on that for a while, which along with organizational change that I was interested in leadership styles, I decided to transition pretty early in my career and get that MBA at Columbia. It was a, a focus on internal systems and nonprofit and public management, which was in a way a consistent thread into mental health, I thought at the time. And so I did that consulting for many years, uh, in Washington DC and in the New York City area. And I remember to this day, a moment when I was walking down in DC somewhere I was about to start my own consulting firm, which entailed hiring employees and setting up a structure, and I thought, gosh, is this what I want my legacy to be? And I thought that's an important question. And I really then dedicated two years of my life to discerning the answer to that question. And it really led me back to, uh, my, my first loves, which was psychology. And, trauma, specifically. I You know, it really has been a journey and in a way it's been a circle because I did start with psychology as an undergrad. I was a double major in psychology and theology. And so those threads are moving through my life. Uh, and after I did research for a while, I got really interested in data analytics. And focused on that for a while, which along with organizational change that I was interested in leadership styles, I decided to transition pretty early in my career and get that MBA at Columbia. It was a, a focus on internal systems and nonprofit and public management, which was in a way a consistent thread into mental health, I thought at the time. And so I did that consulting for many years, uh, in Washington DC and in the New York City area. And I remember to this day, a moment when I was walking down in DC somewhere I was about to start my own consulting firm, which entailed hiring employees and setting up a structure, and I thought, gosh, is this what I want my legacy to be? And I thought that's an important question. And I really then dedicated two years of my life to discerning the answer to that question. And it really led me back to, uh, my, my first loves, which was psychology. And, trauma, specifically. I So I had had a dear uncle who was a very spiritual man as a child growing up. He was my sister's brother and he was a priest and he was, uh, very involved in people's lives and by extension I was involved in, you know, people would come to him with tragedies and heartbreaks and all kinds of suffering and pain and trauma, I often would be called on to help out, go to someone's house or go with him to such and such a place. Um, and I think I really learned compassion and respect and attention to people who are suffering, people who are not at the best points in their life and yet deserve, uh, respect and compassion and care. And I really think that thread kind of pulled me, uh, to trauma.

dr--supatra-tovar_1_10-01-2025_105915: 0:06

How beautiful. I love when our own family especially inspires us to do incredible work, and I do think that many psychologists are inspired either in a negative or a positive way by their families, um, to, to help others recover from similar things or from the things that we're most interested in. So at what point did you realize that working directly with people in clinical settings was the legacy? Well, can you gimme a picture of that? I mean, we have, I think, a good idea of what veterans have gone through, but were there any particular cases, uh, that really stood out for you, that made you want to continue in this work?

dr--maria-gear-haugen_1_10-01-2025_135915: 0:08

This was back in the day, so we really didn't have, certainly didn't have cognitive processing therapy. Um, PE really was not used much. It was in the very early days, and so we didn't have a lot of tools. Besides empathy, uh, listening with attention, uh, caring for people, and I think an earnest desire to help them in their difficulties of their life. But it was really that, perhaps it was, uh, the fact that, I found that people were able to be helped just through those simple tools, uh, and move on with their life. I, I worked with people with dual diagnoses, either substance abuse or traumatic brain injury. so, you know, those are some real challenging times that people were trying to get through and coming to us for help. So it, it, it really was that sense of, you know, I can do something here, and I, I've seen people be helped by this. The most about the relationship between the caregiver and the, and the client. And so that, I think is, is really apparent in your history in working at the VA before these, uh, more, you know, concentrated and, um, you know, validated treatments. So I think that's so wonderful. But what were some of the key lessons that you learned in early work with trauma survivors, like children, adults, veterans that shape how you practice today? They really helped me, you know, focus in on some, I think, key questions in my own development as a provider and someone who, you know, I view my work as being a witness, uh, for people, uh, helping them through difficult times in their life. I really think that the echoes of parts of my practice that I find to be enduring and important, really come from those early experiences. So, you know, that attunement to the person that's in front of me is so important. It's not just the words, it's the posture, it's the language, it's the voice, uh, the cadence, uh, what they're not saying, that I think is very important.

dr--supatra-tovar_1_10-01-2025_105915: 0:11

I would add mindfulness I think are the most important characteristics a, a therapist can embody because, it's not effective if we necessarily, it's not as effective if we guide, or obviously it's not effective if we tell them what to do, but when we're there and we're walking, you know, through their experience with them.

dr--maria-gear-haugen_1_10-01-2025_135915: 0:12

well, you know, even think about. Regular interactions that we have. How often are we truly aware that someone is being fully mindful with, with you in any given moment? There's such power in that, I do practice very much being present and, and being with the person. And in and of itself is, is very powerful. I just love having these kind, kind of conversations. I love looking in my guest's eyes and seeing their emotion and really following along with their journey and their story. So to me it's, it's very similar to therapy, but on a, you know, highly intellectual level, I think more than a therapeutic level. Well, this is in my experience, as I say, I started with an exposure based, uh, therapy, which basically means that the person, uh, is coming to you about an event. Normally what we call capital T traumatic. And, uh, it's disrupting their life. It's getting in the way of relationships, of work, uh, of things like sleep and even going out in public or attending family functions. In the case of written exposure therapy, and you do it repeatedly. The idea behind this kind of therapy is that the exposure itself, the exposure in your mind to this event on a repeated basis, kind of habituates us to the effects of that event. And so our symptoms go down. Uh, that's the idea with an exposure therapy. There's also a, a more cognitively based therapy called cognitive processing therapy, which I've used uh, very many times. That's based on the idea that thoughts are that we have about a events. So I'm, you know, have some kind of trauma in my life, and because of that, I believe I'm weak, or I am no good, or I'm not worthy of good things, or I should have done this, that, or the other. The belief there is, the theory behind that is that those beliefs really get embedded in our minds. And of course, what we think affects how we feel. What we think affects what we do. And so they really see, uh, uh, in that triangle of thoughts, beliefs, and action or, or emotions and actions. That thoughts are central. And so the focus is on changing those thoughts to be more reality based and more balanced. And I have had people who, uh. And with children, I, I really did play therapy, uh, which continues to this day. Um, but my practice has pretty much gone in the, in the direction of adults. And so, my experience is that for some people though, they're really effective if they're able to be pretty verbal. Everyone's not. To be able to talk about the details in, in great detail about your trauma. Everyone's not able to do that. The dropout rates for those are very high. Exposure rates are very high. There continues to be research indicating this as well as, as for CPT, because the time commitment, if you're paying for it, the cost, uh, it's anywhere from, you know, 12 to 15 sessions. And so that can be prohibitive for people as well. And so, although I saw many benefits for some people, I also saw people who dropped out. I saw people who would start and then get frightened, you know, this is too much for me. They just couldn't manage the reactions that they were having. And so, um, I certainly continue to offer those options to people, but I've found over time that the number of people that we can help with those approaches is really limiting. There are just too many people who aren't able to either tolerate it, afford it, or even avail themselves of those kind of therapies.

dr--supatra-tovar_1_10-01-2025_105915: 0:18

Um, they either like pick a, a narrative that they wanna write or they can, create art or, um, you know, a poem. Can, do you, is there a, a connection with that? Is it an offshoot of EMDR? Uh, give, gimme a picture of how it might be different and, and if you could illuminate for our listeners exactly what EMDR is, that would be really helpful for people. 'cause I know that's something that they're very interested in.

dr--maria-gear-haugen_1_10-01-2025_135915: 0:20

with brain spotting. You're going back and forth like this. Well, there's research that indicates that the brain functions to different parts of the visual field, and this, this research goes back close to 50 years, that indicates things like when, when I think of something in the future, visually, eyes tend to go up into the right. When I tend to recall something from my past, a visual, it tends to go up to the left. Uh, in fact, I, you probably hear the FBI watches people's eyes to understand if they're lying or not. And so this is not new research, but the application of it as it deals with trauma with MEMI is new. So we use the entire visual field, which helps the brain. It disrupts the, the pattern of the brain because we're disrupting the normal eye pattern that would, we would use as you're recalling an event. And by doing that, it really changes some structures in the brain and calms the limbic system, which is what causes a lot of the symptoms of PTSD. Brain spotting, again, you're, the idea is that you're, and I'm not, I'm not a provider in brain spotting, but I certainly know about it. Um, you're looking for, as, as a provider, one of the things that you're doing with MEMI is you're watching people's reaction as you're, they're following your finger. I actually use a green pen because I think green is positive and so I might use this green pen. And remember with MEMI, and this is different also. It's sensory based, and so we're not asking them for the details of the event. They don't need to say a word about what it is. Often, I don't have any idea what it is that we're working on that doesn't really disrupt, uh, the effectiveness of it at all. But I do ask them for sensory elements of it. So when you think of it visually, is it in color or black and white? Is it fuzzy or clear? Is it a still photo or is it a movie? And so we get set elements of that and then I'll ask them, are there sounds connected to this event? Is it loud or soft? Is it words or sounds? Is it close or far away? And then I also ask for visceral elements. So physically, what do you feel in your body when this, when you think about this event and what you know, where is it located? What's the intensity of it? Does it throb? Does it, you know, is it sharp? So we're trying to get a sense of the visceral feelings. Brain spotting, again, you're, the idea is that you're, and I'm not, I'm not a provider in brain spotting, but I certainly know about it. Um, you're looking for, as, as a provider, one of the things that you're doing with MEMI is you're watching people's reaction as you're, they're following your finger. I actually use a green pen because I think green is positive and so I might use this green pen. And remember with MEMI, and this is different also. It's sensory based, and so we're not asking them for the details of the event. They don't need to say a word about what it is. Often, I don't have any idea what it is that we're working on that doesn't really disrupt, uh, the effectiveness of it at all. But I do ask them for sensory elements of it. So when you think of it visually, is it in color or black and white? Is it fuzzy or clear? Is it a still photo or is it a movie? And so we get set elements of that and then I'll ask them, are there sounds connected to this event? Is it loud or soft? Is it words or sounds? Is it close or far away? And then I also ask for visceral elements. So physically, what do you feel in your body when this, when you think about this event and what you know, where is it located? What's the intensity of it? Does it throb? Does it, you know, is it sharp? So we're trying to get a sense of the visceral feelings. It's over there. And so while they're looking at that, I'm doing an eye movement, and so they're kind of splitting their attention. Uh, that in their mind at the same time that they're doing whatever the eye movements are. And through the course of the process, we measure change by first assessing at your baseline. how intense is it from? Zero, no. Intensity, 1, 2, 3, 4 is the very highest intensity. How disturbing is it for you? We assess the same for the sounds, for the physical sensations, for the emotions, and so that's our baseline. That's where we start. And then as we do each eye movement set, which each has different parts of the visual field that we're accessing. I'll, I'll say after we go through a set, has anything changed? How has it changed and is it for the better or worse? And then I also ask them, okay, when you think about the, when you see the visual now up there, how intense is it from zero to four? People move their numbers in terms of how distressing, how upsetting each of those sensory elements are. That's what determines how you're progressing in MEMI and that's actually what determines when they're com when they're finished. Yeah. It's, it's, it's, it's hard to believe until you experience it and you see people, um, actually doing it. I'm, I'm in consultation now with, uh, someone new to MEMI and she's just, know, she emailed me right after her first session and said, wow, I can't believe this. And this is someone who's been doing EMDR from the very beginning.