Lifespan Integration (LI) is a therapeutic method developed by American psychologist Peggy Pace since 2003. It combines elements of visualization, neuroscience of trauma, and Ericksonian hypnosis to integrate traumatic memories by connecting them with the client's complete life timeline.
Core premise: Trauma—especially early trauma—leaves the client with the implicit feeling that 'the past is still present.' The implicit memory of trauma lacks a time stamp: it is not experienced as 'this was, it happened, it ended,' but rather as 'this is, it is happening now.' LI restores the sense of temporal continuity through a specific exercise called the 'timeline'.
Clinical procedure: The client creates a timeline of their life with significant events year by year. During the session, they briefly contact the original traumatic memory and then, guided by the therapist, quickly move through the timeline from that moment to the present, evoking an anchor for each year. The repetition of this journey (5-10 times) neurologically integrates the trauma into the biographical continuity.
Validation: LI has a smaller evidence base than EMDR or SE, but growing studies show efficacy for early trauma and dissociation. It is especially useful for pre-verbal trauma where no explicit narrative is available.
Compatibility with systemic work: LI can be applied before Family Constellations (to stabilize the client first) or after (to integrate systemic work into the biographical timeline). It is especially useful when systemic work has activated old traumatic material that requires temporal integration.
Bibliography
- Lifespan Integration — Connecting Ego States Through Time — Peggy Pace. Lifespan Integration LLC, 2003.
These books are in the reference library that nurtures Constelando el Origen.
Related terms
EMDR — Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
Therapeutic method by Francine Shapiro (1989) that uses bilateral stimulation (eye movements, alternating taps) to reprocess traumatic memories. Empirically validated as a treatment of choice for PTSD.
See entryImplicit vs. Explicit Memory
Two distinct memory systems: implicit (procedural, emotional, somatic) operates without awareness. Explicit (autobiographical, narrative) requires conscious recall. Early trauma remains predominantly implicit.
See entryHippocampus and Trauma Memory
A key brain structure for explicit memory and the temporal integration of experiences. In trauma, its function can be inhibited, leaving memories 'frozen' outside of narrative time.
See fichaComplex Trauma (C-PTSD)
A disorder formulated by Judith Herman (1992): trauma resulting from prolonged exposure to abuse, neglect, or severe dysfunctional relationships, especially in childhood. Different from classic PTSD.
See fichaA session that names what hurts
If you recognize this dynamic in your own history, a Family Constellation can reveal where it comes from and what movement can bring order to it. Daniela accompanies each case with respect.
Sessions in Spanish only