EMDR Therapy
“Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an extensively researched, effective psychotherapy method proven to help people recover from trauma and other distressing life experiences, including PTSD, anxiety, depression, and panic disorders.” — from the EMDRIA website
EMDR therapy has been around since 1987 and is one of the “go-to” therapies for trauma. Unlike some other approaches, EMDR does not require long sessions of talking in detail about painful issues. In fact, you can work with EMDR at times without disclosing what specific event or memory we are working on. The therapist is involved, but does not need to know the details. EMDR also does not require you to complete lots of homework or journaling in between sessions (unless you want to!).
So what does EMDR do? EMDR helps the brain activate and resume its natural healing process. Sometimes, after a traumatic event, the brain is able to heal itself. Just like our bodies can heal cuts and bruises without any help, our brains also have a natural healing mechanism that heals the emotional pain from traumatic events. However, sometimes trauma can overwhelm the body’s natural healing mechanisms, and the healing process gets stuck. This is especially true if the traumatic event was overwhelming, or happened at a time when you have happened during a time when we were already under stress, or if there were multiple traumatic events. This is when PTSD symptoms can continue long after an event has passed.
EMDR therapy is designed to resolve unprocessed traumatic memories in the brain by reengaging the adaptive information processing of the brain. While it is not known exactly how and why EMDR works, and the research overwhelmingly shows that it does work, it is believed that EMDR supports memory reconsolidation. It is believed to affect neural networks by restructuring networks related to trauma and by strengthening positive neural pathways.
What is EMDR Therapy Like?
EMDR therapy is done in phases, so you will not start off “diving in” to working with traumatic memories. Because EMDR therapy is not just a tool for trauma healing, but complete model of psychotherapy, it has steps and phases that work more or less sequentially. So in the first few sessions on it might look like other kinds of therapy—you talk about your life, your current stressors, your history. You will work with me to assess how well you cope with stress and learn some tools for that. This is in preparation for working with trauma memories.
During the processing phase, EMDR looks something like a meditation (observing silently and internally) that is done with “bilateral stimulation” —where the eye movements or other method of stimulating both sides of the brain come in. It can be done with eye movement but can also use sound or tapping alternate sides of the body (correlating to the hemispheres of the brain). This processing phase of EMDR therapy involves bringing to your mind specific aspects of the trauma memory while incorporating bilateral stimulation. During this phase, your job as a client is mostly to observe what is taking place in your mind while tracking (or paying attention to) the bilateral stimulation. The therapist checks in frequently to make sure the memory is “moving” or processing and to make sure you are tolerating what is happening. This dual attention—paying attention to what is happening in your mind at the same time as the eye movements or tapping—and the ability to maintain it, is an essential part of EMDR’s effectiveness.
Part of EMDR processing includes noticing body sensations and beliefs that are connected to the memories being processed. This is why EMDR is often referred to as a somatic therapy and a cognitive therapy, though it is truly an integrative therapy and incorporates both. Memories are not just images or sequences of remembered events, memories also include all the feelings, sensations in the body, and beliefs that are connected to the event.
Finally, EMDR does not just work with the past. While traumatic memories are stored past events, they impact our present as well as our thoughts and beliefs about the future. EMDR includes templates to address the past, present and future.
So while EMDR is an efficient therapy that can address and resolve trauma and distress more quickly than some other methods, it does take some time and commitment. And when there are multiple memories or issues involved, it can take time to get through everything.
What are the limitations of EMDR?
EMDR is a very effective form of therapy, but does require integration with other kinds of therapy when working with certain kinds of complex trauma, childhood trauma, and certain symptoms such as dissociation. This is where I integrate EMDR with IFS and mindfulness practices. EMDR’s standard protocol can’t strengthen positive memories that never existed in the first place, but IFS and relational psychodynamic therapy can help you create the developmental/experiential building blocks of positive experiences you might have missed out on because of emotional neglect or an inadequately supportive emotional environment during childhood.
For more information about EMDR therapy, see the following resources:
EMDR International Association: http://emdria.site-ym.com/
EMDRIA Informational Video: https://vimeo.com/179500047