EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. This evidence-based psychotherapy approach has been widely researched and endorsed for the treatment of trauma and other disorders. While its primary use is for the treatment of PTSD, it is also effective for anxiety, phobias, and OCD. Let's look at what EMDR is, how it works, and its applications.
How Does EMDR Work?
During EMDR, the therapist uses bilateral stimulation, like eye movements, taps, or tones, to alternately stimulate the left and right sides of the brain. This helps the brain process traumatic memories and their accompanying negative thoughts and emotions.
Bilateral stimulation mimics the REM sleep cycle. During REM, the brain processes memories and moves them to the proper storage area. Unfortunately, traumatic memories can get "stuck" and aren't properly processed. This causes a person to continually relive the moment, caught in a continual loop of fight-or-flight. EMDR helps unlock these memories and allows the brain to resume its natural processing, reducing the pain intensity.
How Does EMDR Therapy Work?
EMDR is thought to work by forging new neural pathways in a person's brain that replace traumatic memories and negative beliefs with more positive ones. The bilateral stimulation may unlock the traumatic memory network in the brain, allowing the client to reprocess the memoryless painfully. The eye movements dampen the emotion and vividness of the traumatic images, making them more bearable for the client to recall.
With the guidance of the EMDR therapist, the client processes the memory and replaces negative thoughts with more positive and realistic ones. Gradually, the memory loses its painful intensity, and the client can recall it without distress. The adaptive memory is integrated into the client's belief system, and symptoms such as nightmares, flashbacks, and negative self-beliefs start to fade.
While EMDR is a relatively short therapeutic process, there are 8 phases a therapist guides their client through. This involves:
History taking - gathering information and identifying target memories.
Preparation - educating the client on the EMDR process.
Assessment - selecting specific memories.
Desensitization - utilizing bilateral stimulation to reduce emotional intensity.
Installation - replacing negative beliefs with positive beliefs and self-statements.
Body Scan - scanning the body for any tension or discomfort.
Closure - helping the client return to a state of equilibrium.
Reevaluation - assessing the effectiveness of the treatment and seeing if any other memories need to be targeted.
Is EMDR Therapy Effective for Trauma?
EMDR therapy has been extensively studied and proven effective for reducing the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other trauma-related disorders. Numerous clinical trials have found that EMDR can rapidly decrease distress from traumatic memories and help clients process traumatic events. Clients often report that their traumatic memories seem less distressing and more like ordinary memories.
EMDR can be very effective, often requiring fewer sessions than traditional talk therapy, and gives people a chance to live free from the pain of past trauma.
Some of the benefits of EMDR therapy include:
Reduced symptom severity: EMDR helps relieve PTSD symptoms like flashbacks, nightmares, and severe anxiety.
Improved coping: EMDR gives clients the skills to better cope with traumatic memories and triggers.
Increased resilience: By processing past traumatic events, EMDR helps build mental resilience and handle future stressors.
Faster treatment: EMDR typically requires fewer sessions than other trauma-focused therapies. Clients can experience substantial improvements in just a few sessions.
EMDR therapy is a cutting-edge approach that can help alleviate symptoms of PTSD and other past experiences that continue to cause distress. As a licensed EMDR therapist, I can assess if you'd be a good fit for this effective treatment. Book a consultation for EMDR therapy with us today to learn more.
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