EMDR and How Can It Help You Process Trauma
Written by: Alex Curtis MCP, RCC
What is EMDR?
EMDR is a structured, evidence-based therapy that helps clients to process a traumatic event in a safe environment to reduce the vividness or intensity of the emotions associated with that event. This form of therapy was founded by Francine Shapiro in the 1980s. EMDR has been widely researched and has a success rate of approximately 80%!
What does EMDR stand for?
EMDR stands for Eye-Movement Desensitization Reprocessing. EMDR was originally practiced using eye movements.
How does it work? What are the eye-movements for?
Bilateral stimulation is the process of stimulating the left-side and right-side body back and forth continuously at an even pace, initially with the eyes. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation to help clients relax their mind, body, and nervous system enough so they can safely and healthily reprocess a traumatic event. As EMDR has grown in popularity, many additional types of bilateral stimulation other than eye movements have been developed, including crossbody touches, taps or tones.
What happens when we experience trauma?
Human beings typically go into Fight-Flight-Freeze-Fawn mode to protect themselves through highly stressful events, meaning our prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that is responsible for rationalization, reasoning, and consequences, shuts off. When the prefrontal cortex is offline we may block some parts of the experience out or have a difficult time processing exactly what happened. This inability to properly process a traumatic event can result in negative thoughts, feelings, beliefs or body sensations that are stored within us. EMDR helps greatly reduce or potentially eliminate the stored negative thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and body sensations associated with the stressful event. The bilateral stimulation helps to keep the brain online and the nervous system calms in order to help the client reprocess the traumatic event in a safe way.
How many sessions will EMDR take approximately?
EMDR can take anywhere from 3-20 sessions depending on the individual, but the average person will likely need 10-15 sessions; however, each client’s specific EMDR needs will greatly vary depending on multiple factors. Clients interested in EMDR should book a consultation or discuss this course of treatment with their EMDR-trained clinician directly for a more accurate estimation. Consistent sessions are strongly recommended as triggers may temporarily intensify so it is important to talk to your therapist about the frequency and cadence of appointments.
What does the process look like?
Typically, the first 1-3 sessions are used for history taking. In the history-taking phase, the therapist will ask the client to take them through the major highlights of their life to figure out the best memory or “target” to begin working with. The next phase includes positive resourcing which entails teaching the client coping tools that they can use in between sessions to ground themselves in between sessions as reprocessing a traumatic event can be triggering. This can take anywhere from 1-4 sessions. The next phase is the actual reprocessing of the traumatic memory or ‘target’. During the reprocessing phase, the client will be asked to report on what they are experiencing mentally, physically, and emotionally. This stage will vary greatly in length based on the individual and includes a positive installation phase in which a maladaptive subconscious belief pattern is replaced with a positive belief about the self so that the client can better manage future triggers.
What is so great about EMDR?
EMDR is a safe and controlled way of accessing adaptive information that may be stored away in the subconscious mind to promote healing for those who have experienced trauma. EMDR cannot help us to ‘forget’ the traumatic event, but it can help to significantly reduce the emotional charge we associate with that particular memory. EMDR operates under the principle that the subconscious mind will bring forth whatever it needs in order to heal; therefore, there are no right or wrong answers! EMDR can help to reduce the emotional disturbance that a person experiences daily.
Final Note:
If you are interested in exploring EMDR as part of your own therapeutic journey, connect with us to book an appointment with Robyn!
For more reading on other therapeutic techniques offered by Gather & Ground practitioners, check out this post on the benefits of hypnotherapy.
Information in this article was adapted from:
https://www.emdria.org/about-emdr-therapy/