OEI - Observed Experiential Integration
Turns out, healing might be as simple as changing how you look at things. Literally.
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What is OEI?
Observed Experiential Integration (OEI) is a cutting-edge, bottom-up trauma therapy developed in the 1990s by Canadian therapists Audrey Cook and Dr. Rick Bradshaw. Born out of the foundations of EMDR and deeply rooted in neurophysiology and the neuroscience of visual processing, OEI works by engaging the brain's own visual pathways to access, reprocess, and integrate traumatic memories that have become lodged in the nervous system - often reaching layers of experience that traditional talk therapy, and even EMDR, simply cannot touch.
The therapy is built on a fascinating and clinically profound observation: during a traumatic event, the brain doesn't just record what happened - it also records the precise eye position, eye muscle tension, and neck muscle activation that were present in that moment. These neurological imprints, known in OEI as "glitches," can become embedded in specific positions of the visual field, quietly holding the emotional and physiological charge of the original experience long after it has passed. By gently guiding a client's eyes through a precise process of switching (alternating eye coverage), sweeping, and glitch massaging, an OEI therapist can locate these stored imprints, activate them safely within the session, and use targeted eye movements to reprocess and resolve the trauma at a neurobiological level.
What makes OEI particularly remarkable is what it doesn't require. Unlike many trauma therapies, OEI does not require clients to verbally narrate or consciously recall their traumatic experiences. The therapy works directly with body sensation, breath awareness, and the visual field - making it uniquely accessible for clients navigating pre-verbal trauma, dissociative memory gaps, or experiences they have never been able to put into words. Woven throughout every session is a precise and intuitive form of neuro-activation and micro-attunement (NAMA) - a moment-to-moment process of neural activation and deep therapist-client attunement that supports the nervous system in completing what was left unfinished. Research backs up its effectiveness: in clinical trials, 90% of participants experienced significant and lasting relief from PTSD symptoms - in as few as three one-hour sessions.
Why you might be here
Something Still Feels Stuck, Even After All the Work
You may have already invested in your healing, and while you've made real progress, something still won't quite shift. There might be a persistent heaviness in your body that doesn't respond to insight or conversation. A fear that activates before you have time to think. A freeze that takes over at the worst moments, leaving you feeling trapped inside your own nervous system. Or perhaps there are experiences you've never been able to put into words at all, events that happened too early, too suddenly, or in ways that left gaps in your memory; and yet your body clearly hasn't forgotten. You might find yourself caught in what feels like an internal tug-of-war: one part of you wanting to move forward, another part braced and immovable. This, in the language of OEI, is the limbic freeze response; what happens when the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are simultaneously activated, like someone has pressed the gas and the brake of your nervous system at the very same time.
If any of this resonates, you're not alone! These responses are your nervous system's attempt to protect you, working with the only strategies it learned. OEI was specifically designed for exactly these kinds of experiences, the ones that live beneath language, beneath narrative, beneath the stories we have tried to tell about them. Whether you are navigating complex trauma, PTSD, dissociation, chronic freeze or shutdown states, intrusive thoughts, phobias, body image concerns, or simply the exhausting sense that something from your past is still quietly running the show, OEI offers a gentle, precise, and genuinely hopeful pathway toward real resolution. You don't have to have all the answers. You don't even have to remember what you're healing from. OEI works with what your nervous system already knows.
Unconventional by Choice, Exceptional by Design
Our clinicians combine specialized expertise with intentionally unconventional, innovative methods to craft care that is deeply personal and never one-size-fits-all.We don't just talk about it
Our experiential, integrative treatment models address trauma and a wide range of concerns at their root.Trusted by Over 3,500 Clients and Counting
Our track record reflects thousands of individuals, couples, and families who have found meaningful healing with our team.Rooted in Values, Driven by Relationship
We believe values-based leadership creates values-based care. That relational philosophy shapes every interaction you have with our team, and you'll feel it.
Relief from trauma symptoms that previously felt impossible to access or resolve - including through other therapies
Significant reduction in flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, and nightmares
A nervous system that feels less like a smoke alarm going off at random and more like something you can actually trust
Freedom from chronic freeze, shutdown, and dissociative states that have made it hard to feel present in your own life
Healing from pre-verbal, non-verbal, or previously inaccessible traumatic experiences - no narrative required
Reduced hypervigilance, anxiety, and the bone-deep exhaustion of being constantly on guard
Greater embodiment - a felt sense of actually being home in your body, perhaps for the first time in a long time
A more integrated and coherent inner landscape, with less fragmentation and more continuity in your sense of self
A genuine and often surprising sense of resolution - not just intellectually, but felt all the way through
Why choose Providence Therapy
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OEI at Providence: Where Expertise Meets the Leading Edge
OEI is one of the most innovative and effective trauma therapies available today, and it is gaining well-deserved traction among trauma specialists around the world for its capacity to reach and resolve experiences that other approaches have left partially unhealed. But here is something that many people seeking OEI don't always know: the quality, safety, and depth of OEI treatment depend enormously on the training, attunement, and clinical experience of the therapist delivering it. OEI is not a scripted protocol that can be applied uniformly. It is a highly nuanced, moment-to-moment relational and neurobiological process - one that requires the clinician to track subtle physiological cues, detect glitches with precision, titrate emotional intensity carefully, and adapt their approach in real time to what the client's nervous system is communicating. The expertise of your therapist is not just a nice-to-have; it is central to OEI.
At Providence Therapy, our OEI expertise is among the most advanced available in Canada. With three Certified OEI Trainers & Master Trainers on staff (meaning they are not only qualified to deliver OEI at the highest clinical standard, but are formally certified to train and supervise other therapists in the approach), you can be sure you are receiving a sophisticated and practiced level of expertise, paced appropriately for your history. The NAMA process - the neuro-activation and micro-attunement that runs throughout every OEI session - is something that only becomes truly effective in the hands of a clinician who has trained deeply in both the science behind it and the relational craft of applying it. That is exactly the level of care we bring.
Our work is also deeply integrative. OEI at Providence is rarely delivered as a standalone modality, but rather, it is thoughtfully woven into a personalized treatment framework that may also draw from many other approaches depending on what your specific presentation calls for. For clients who have tried other trauma therapies and found them only partially effective, OEI is often the missing piece, and being able to access it within a clinic that specializes in exactly this level of precision can make an enormous difference to the depth and durability of your healing outcomes.
Have questions before taking the leap?
If you have any questions for us prior to booking an appointment or being matched with a therapist, please fill out this contact form and our clinic concierge will get back to you during business hours (Monday- Friday 9:00am to 5:00pm PST).
We look forward to supporting you
604-332-5279
info@providencetherapybc.com
Our Team
Catherine Giffin
Jonathan Jung
Debra Rapske
Alysha Aubin
Emily Macdonell
Christen McCallum
For Your Clarity
Observed Experiential Integration (OEI) Frequently Asked Questions
OEI (Observed Experiential Integration) is a bottom-up trauma therapy that uses the brain's visual pathways and precise eye-based techniques to access and reprocess traumatic experiences stored in the nervous system. Like EMDR, it uses bilateral stimulation - but through a fundamentally different mechanism. Rather than lateral eye movements, OEI works through alternating eye coverage (switching), sweeping, and glitch massaging to locate and resolve specific neurological imprints of trauma embedded in the visual field. OEI evolved out of EMDR and is considered by many specialists to reach deeper layers of traumatic experience, particularly in cases where EMDR has yielded only partial results. It also holds a distinct advantage: you do not need to consciously remember or narrate a traumatic experience for OEI to work.
Your first session is focused on connection, safety, and maybe a cool regulating tool or two - not processing. Your therapist will take time to get to know you, your history, and what brings you in. They will explain in plain language how OEI works, what the techniques feel like, such as switching or finding your dominant eye, and what you can expect as the process unfolds. A central principle of OEI is that clients should never feel overwhelmed or destabilized in session - so before any processing begins, we invest meaningfully in orienting your nervous system and building your capacity for regulation. You are always in the driver's seat.
No - and this is one of OEI's most genuinely hopeful qualities. Because OEI works directly with the nervous system, body sensation, and the visual field rather than conscious narrative recall, it is highly effective for pre-verbal trauma, dissociative memory gaps, and experiences that have never been articulable. If your body is holding something your mind can't fully access, OEI is designed to work with exactly that. You don't need to know what it is. You don't need to be able to tell the story. Your nervous system already has what's needed.
OEI is explicitly designed with the principle that clients should not have to suffer to heal. The techniques are structured to carefully titrate - meaning precisely regulate and control - the intensity of emotional and somatic activation throughout every session, keeping the process within a manageable and safe window. At Providence Therapy, our OEI therapist brings Level I and II certification, Trainer & Master Trainer credentials, and deep specialized experience in complex trauma — meaning your process will be closely and skillfully guided at every step, with built-in responsiveness to how your nervous system is responding in real time. You will never be left to navigate the experience alone.
This depends on the nature and complexity of your history. For single-incident trauma, meaningful resolution can sometimes be reached in just a handful of sessions - clinical research has shown significant PTSD symptom relief in as few as three one-hour sessions using the switching technique alone. For more complex or layered presentations - including developmental trauma, dissociation, or chronic relational trauma - the process will naturally be longer, more gradual, and paced with care. Your therapist will work collaboratively with you to develop a realistic and personalized plan, revisiting it as your healing progresses.
Yes & No - OEI can adapt well to secure video sessions, with switching being the most accessible intervention, and many clients find it equally effective in an online format. Your therapist will guide you through all techniques in a way that is safe, clear, and manageable from wherever you are. For clients with more complex presentations, higher levels of dissociation, where glitch work may be necessary, or those who are earlier in their stabilization process, in-person sessions may be recommended, and your therapist will have an honest, thoughtful conversation with you about what makes the most sense for your specific needs.
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