What is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR stands for “Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing”. It is a highly researched, evidence-based therapy initially developed to treat individuals with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Acute Stress Disorder (ASD). It is one of two types of psychological treatments recommended by the World Health Organization to treat PTSD.
In addition to addressing major traumas, EMDR therapy can also be used to resolve other issues such as depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, childhood/family of origin issues, relationship concerns and other distressing life experiences.
How Can EMDR Help You?
EMDR can help you resolve issues in your life that keep you feeling stuck, scared or hurt. This can be an incredibly empowering experience, often resulting in improved mood, confidence and vitality. When the past is no longer holding you back, more energy is available to invest in your present-day experience and future aspirations. Clients often report feeling more peaceful, joyful and resilient after EMDR therapy.
How does EMDR work?
EMDR helps the brain process distressing memories from the past so that they no longer hold the same emotional charge in the present. The client is asked to recall a distressing event as the clinician guides the client in one of several forms of dual attention stimuli, which may be visual (eye movements), tactile (pulsors held in each hand) or auditory (headphones that omit alternating beeps in each ear). This process can actually help “neutralize” memories so that they are no longer upsetting and will no longer impact one’s present-day experience.
But what is actually happening during this process? Picture the brain as a large filing cabinet full of files. When the brain’s processing system is working well, our memories get neatly stored away into their appropriate files. When an individual wants to remember an event from the past, they simply open up the file, look at the memory, then store it away again. When memories are adequately filed there is a sense of completion- we are clear that what happened occurred in the past, and even though the incident may have been upsetting at the time, we can revisit the memory without it prompting an unmanageable level of distress.
When trauma occurs, however, the brain’s filing system is less likely to work efficiently. It is as if the files are strewn about the room, unable to be put away. In this way, the memories continue to create distress; it is almost as if the trauma is still continuing. EMDR therapy can help these memories be adequately filed away so that they no longer interfere with daily life.
We know EMDR works; much research is underway to clarify exactly how and why it works. It is hypothesized that dual attention stimuli mimics the brain’s natural processing systems that occurs during the rapid eye movement (REM) phase of sleep. It is theorized that during REM sleep, experiences from waking life get stored into memory, and that a similar process occurs in EMDR therapy. In other words, the dual attention stimuli in EMDR may serve as a conscious, accelerated version of REM sleep that similarly prompts the brain to process memories. When information gets adequately stored in memory, it no longer has the same emotional charge and no longer will cause discomfort.
Please contact me to see if EMDR therapy is right for you!
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