Criteria for Assessing the Validity of IMR Responses
Emotional and Physiological Memory
These can be seen first through changes in respiration, pulse rate, and emotional reactions. These occur very rapidly and must appear before a designated finger lifts to show an inner orientation to the time of an important experience.
Ideo-motor Signals
These indicate the accessing of memory at an unconscious level. They usually occur a few seconds after the appearance of psychological memory. At the moment the finger lifts signalling this second, higher level of memory, the patient still does not have a verbal level of awareness of the experience; there are only feelings of anticipation, vague unrest, or discomfort.
Verbal Reporting
This follows these physiological and ideomotor indications of the inner accessing of meaningful material. To reach this conscious horizon of verbal thought, the entire experience may have to be reviewed repeatedly. The patient is told that one finger will lift to signal the beginning of an experience and another finger to signal its ending. The number of repetitions to elevate the memory from deep unconscious zones of memory storage depends upon the gravity of the experience.
