What Is EMDR?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is an evidence-based psychotherapy approach recognized by major health organizations, including the World Health Organization and the American Psychological Association. EMDR was discovered in 1987 by American psychologist Dr. Francine Shapiro. While taking a walk in the park, Dr. Shapiro noticed that her distressing thoughts decreased in intensity as she moved her eyes rapidly from side to side. Through extensive research and experimentation, she developed EMDR as a structured therapy. Shapiro’s research and experimentation demonstrated that rapid eye movements stimulate both sides of the brain to integrate any disturbing material in a healthy way. This means that unsettling thoughts, feelings, images, or experiences can be effectively processed and archived away in the memory network to avoid the lingering effects of distress in our minds and memory.
Although initially developed to treat trauma, EMDR is now used to address various mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, panic disorders, phobias, and more.
How Does It Work? The Theory Behind EMDR
A previous blog post addressed traumatic events, triggers, and symptoms. Traumatic events can leave us with lingering disturbing material that causes emotional or physiological reactions when we are triggered. These reactions include being easily startled, anxiety, flashbacks, and difficulty sleeping, among others. This usually occurs when the traumatic event has not been processed appropriately by our brain, almost like the memory and all of its disturbing feelings are ‘stuck’ in our mind.
The theory is that our brain has a way to process the information it receives every day and stores what is useful to be learned and used in the future as we make decisions. Any useless details or upsetting (hurtful) information can be discarded. In a stressful event, due to the rise in cortisol (stress hormone), adrenaline, and changes in the nervous system, our brain is unable to process stress and function appropriately. At this point disturbing material essentially gets stuck in the brain, almost like it is waiting to be processed. Learning has not occurred from it, and the disturbance has not been discarded. The information processing system of the brain is offline.
EMDR therapy aims to help the brain resume its natural healing process. While the exact mechanisms are still being studied, the current theory suggests that EMDR works by facilitating communication between the two hemispheres of the brain. The left hemisphere is responsible for logical thinking, language, and reasoning; while the right hemisphere is associated with emotions, intuition, and sensory processing. We believe trauma can be resolved by properly connecting the left and right sides of the brain as the person recalls the traumatic memory. This is accomplished through bilateral stimulation (BLS).
The Role of Bilateral Stimulation
EMDR employs bilateral stimulation (BLS) to facilitate this inter-hemispheric communication. BLS involves alternating stimulation of the left and right sides of the body, such as through rapid eye movements from left to right, alternating taps on the shoulders or knees, or auditory stimuli alternating between left and right ears.
The theory posits that BLS helps the brain process traumatic memories more effectively, potentially by mimicking the brain’s natural processing that occurs during REM sleep. In this sense, it enables the information processing system of the brain to come back online. It effectively processes the thoughts and emotions of the memory and all of its accompanying disturbances into categories of ‘useful/keep’ and ‘useless/discard’. In this manner, the person learns from the traumatic experience while also letting go of the disturbing symptoms.
The EMDR Process
A typical EMDR therapy session involves the following steps:
- History-taking and treatment planning
- Preparation and teaching of coping skills
- Assessment of target memories
- Desensitization using BLS while focusing on the target memory
- Installation of positive beliefs
- Body scan to identify and resolve any remaining physical tension
- Closure and re-evaluation
It’s important to note that EMDR doesn’t require detailed verbal recounting of traumatic events, which can be beneficial for those who find it difficult to talk about their experiences.
Should I Try EMDR?
EMDR has been extensively researched and is recognized as an effective treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Its efficacy for other conditions is still being studied, with promising results for various anxiety and mood disorders.
You might consider EMDR if:
- You’re experiencing symptoms of trauma, such as flashbacks, nightmares, or heightened anxiety
- You have depression, anxiety, or phobias that haven’t responded well to other treatments
- You prefer a treatment that doesn’t rely heavily on medication
- You find it difficult to talk about your traumatic experiences in detail
At the Laetare Group, we value EMDR as a unique gift that assists the brain with naturally healing emotional and cognitive wounds. If you think EMDR might be helpful to you, please reach out to your therapist to discuss further.
Conclusion
EMDR is a unique and potentially powerful therapeutic approach that has helped many individuals process traumatic experiences and alleviate various mental health symptoms. EMDR can be provided in person or virtually, depending on your therapist’s availability. It can be short term or long term, according to the severity of your trauma and symptoms. The preparation process includes learning effective coping skills to manage any distress, identifying the disturbing memories (including early childhood memories that may have been forgotten about), and activating each memory one by one while using BLS. EMDR does not require the client to talk at length or in detail of the traumatic event since the brain has all of the information it needs and simply uses BLS guidance to integrate the information.
For more information on EMDR, please refer to these resources:
- https://www.emdr.com/what-is-emdr/
- EMDR International Association
- American Psychological Association – EMDR for PTSD
- Recent meta-analysis on EMDR effectiveness
Author: Cynthia Barboza is part of the Laetare Group and specializes in virtual EMDR Therapy for adults. Read more about her here.