EMDR stands for
Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing
EMDR is an eight phase, evidence based, psychotherapy approach, that is effective in treating trauma and other distressing life experiences including - PTSD, anxiety, depression and panic disorders. It uses a technique called bilateral stimulation to help your mind and body process traumatic memories, so they are no longer overwhelming or disturbing.
About trauma
Sometimes the cause of trauma is in the present and seems very clear. This could look like enduring an accident, an overwhelming loss, or experiencing an assault. Other times it may not seem like there is a direct cause of suffering, and it may feel harder to identify the source of your symptoms. Trauma in early childhood can have a lasting effects on a person’s adult life. Early life trauma might be caused by abuse or neglect, or it might look less obvious, like growing up in a chaotic household, with a parent who yelled a lot or was overly critical.
When a traumatic event happens to a person, their brains and bodies change physiologically. Sometimes, these changes can cause the person to feel constantly on high alert, to avoid anything that reminds them of the painful event, and even often feel like they are re-experiencing the event as if it just happened in the present. Clients may experience a wide range of symptoms, including anxiety, depression, panic, overwhelm, flashbacks, or chronic pain.
Trauma desensitization
Trauma desensitization is profound work that must be done within the security of the therapeutic relationship. First, your therapist will work with you to develop a resource tool kit. This is a set of skills you can use to help contain emotions and soothe yourself when working through painful memories. This is known as “phase two” of EMDR treatment, and while for some clients this may take a couple of sessions, for others it can take months. The goal is to be able to return to a sense of calm. Once enough internal resources have been developed, trauma desensitization can begin.
What happens in a session?
Once the client and therapist decide they are ready to begin the desensitization phase, bilateral stimulation is used in session to help facilitate in activating both sides of the brain. In the office, the client may choose to hold “tappers” or small pulsars that the client places in each hand that vibrate in an alternating fashion. Some clients prefer to watch the therapists fingers move left to right, listen to tones alternating from one ear to the other, or cross their arms and hug themselves while tapping referred to as a “butterfly hug”. Many of these techniques can be accomplished virtually as well. Your therapist will work with you to find the most comfortable fit for you. EMDR can be helpful for treating many different kinds of trauma. The experience is still remembered, but the fight, flight, or freeze response from the original event is resolved.