How Does Parts Work Actually Work? My Deep Dive into Memory Reconsolidation and How It Transformed My Understandings

When I first began practicing parts work (and in fact EMDR therapy), I was amazed at how quickly and effectively these approaches work. But when I was asked how these seemingly odd (at times) approaches actually made change, I found it hard to articulate beyond an intuitive pull to them, and plenty of clinical breakthroughs for my clients.

The Theoretical Underpinnings

Francine Shapiro’s Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model in EMDR therapy offers a coherent framework for understanding why symptoms emerge and persist. It proposes that unprocessed adverse experiences become stored in maladaptive memory networks, which then continue to influence thoughts, emotions and behaviours. Over time, these networks can be reinforced through triggers and new learning, shaping the patterns clients struggle with in the present. In EMDR therapy:

• The original memory is accessed

• The emotional and sensory components become activated and desensitised through bilateral stimulation

• New adaptive information emerges

• The memory remains in a less charged state

Where I was still struggling was the articulation of why parts work (with or without EMDR therapy alongside) is so powerful. As part of my Resource Therapy journey, I have seen incredible repair hurt in my clients, not just the desensitisation of emotions.

This is particularly useful when we are working with experiences associated with rejection, unlovableness, and fear (usually beginning in early childhood). Parts Work takes it beyond removing the charge, and actually seems to ‘repair’ the attachment based hurt.

 So I started to dive into the idea of memory reconsolidation- and whilst I have only just scratched the surface of the fascinating work being done, I am excited to see this area to continue to develop, and be applied to create a solid evidence base in relation to Parts Work modalities. The science of memory reconsolidation puts words and structure around what clients are experiencing in the therapy room.

What Is Memory Reconsolidation?

Memory reconsolidation refers to the brain’s natural process of updating stored emotional memories when conditions are just right. Researchers such as Bruce Ecker, Karim Nader, and Joseph LeDoux have described how emotional memories can be reactivated, altered with new information, and then “re-stored” in a less distressing form. It is not about forgetting or changing the original memory experience. As in EMDR therapy, is about transforming our emotional and physical response to the memory.

So when a participant in  therapy accesses the emotional impact of an old experience while also receiving new, corrective, or incompatible information, the brain has an opportunity to revise that emotional learning at the source. In Resource Therapy, we can use a set number of actions, in order, known as

Expression, Removal and Relief.

First, we activate the original memory impression held by a ‘part’ of the neural network and nervous system. We ensure the memory network has been accessed or ‘lit’ up in such a way that the emotional or bodily impact is re-experienced in the moment- all with a sense of careful therapeutic containment.

Then we guide the client through a protocol (known in RT as a treatment action) to allow them to ‘update’ the information held in relation to that memory- first via the explicit expression of their needs in that moment, or their adult perspective of what ‘should’ have happened.

The next step is to update the information via a process of ‘removal’- this refers to the realisation that the perceived ‘power’ of a person or event is merely a memory fragment, that is no longer happening, and can be released.

Finally, we provide a juxtaposition of ‘relief’, usually provided by an aspect of the client themselves that holds adaptive information about soothing, nurture, protectiveness, or similar. We may call on a specific memory where the client was able to connect with this trait, or by asking what they as an adult would do if they saw someone struggling with rejection, fear or hurt.

As the client applies this adaptive information to the part (or memory network) that encoded hurt, and ‘feels’ the positive impact of this new experience, it shifts the way a memory is perceived by the nervous system.

When the correct part (or neural pathway) is accessed, and the emotional learning from its past is activated in a safe therapeutic space, new adaptive information can arrive. This creates ideal conditions for reconsolidation.

My Own Clinical Shift

Once I truly began to grasp memory reconsolidation, I began to approach both EMDR and Resource Therapy with even more precision and trust. I have become clearer about why we do what we do, the importance of both fidelity and flexibility, and how to better articulate what is going on inside the client as we work.

Clients often report shifts that felt “surprising” or “sudden,” but from the reconsolidation lens, they made perfect sense. The brain has updated an old emotional truth, widening perspective, whilst the memory itself remains intact.

Why This Matters

For clients, memory reconsolidation explains why trauma work can feel transformative. For clinicians, it offers a scientifically grounded framework for understanding change. For me, it brought coherence to my entire therapeutic approach and strengthened the way I integrate EMDR and Resource Therapy.

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Want to learn more about Parts Work? Download my free Webinar for Mental Health Professionals, or sign up for my Parts Work E-Book priority list here

Details about Resource Therapy and Resource Therapy training can be found by clicking these hyperlinks.

Want to experience this therapy yourself? Check out my EMDR Immersions program here

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Claudia Wolf | AMHSW | Accredited EMDR | Advanced Clinical Resource Therapist & Trainer

✨ EMDR Informed Advanced Parts Work Training

✨ Client EMDR Intensive Program (Immersions)

✨ Consultation

www.wolftherapeutic.com.au

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This blog is not a replacement for therapy or therapy training, and is for entertainment and educational purposes only. If these themes bring up any distress for you, please seek formal support.