EMDR Therapy

Many people experience some form of trauma in their life, some without recognizing their experience or symptoms as traumatic. 

Psychological trauma is the result of extraordinarily stressful events that shatter your sense of security and result in you feeling helpless, alone and vulnerable in a dangerous world. 

When we experience traumatic stress, it impacts our brains physiologically, which in turn impacts our behavior, mood, and physiology.

There are major events that most think of when hearing the word trauma: physical or sexual abuse, war, natural disaster. However, what is often overlooked is what is referred to as “little t” trauma.

The key in trauma is your experience and not the severity of the event. If you were a child, if it occurred by a caregiver, or how long the experience lasted can impact the severity of “little t” trauma for you personally. 

Examples of “little t” trauma include:

• Ongoing emotional abuse/neglect
• Being bullied or ridiculed
• Experiences of shame, being left out
• Feeling not cared for, rejected
• Sports or other physical injuries
• Loss or death of someone/something very close
• Car accident
• Childhood medical or developmental issues

Many people who have experienced any form of trauma develop a very normal way of coping by blocking out or repressing particularly painful negative memories. Unfortunately, over time, these traumatic memories may rise to the surface in disturbing ways.

Or the impact of the experience may show up via symptoms such as the ones in the list above or in PTSD.

EMDR seeks to help you relieve the disturbance resulting from traumatic experiences.

One way this is accomplished is by briefly recalling a vivid memory while engaging in EMDR processing via eye movements or taps. This process continues until there is no distress when recalling the memory.

You don't have to discuss the details of the disturbing event with your EMDR therapist and it's very important not to relive the experience. Your EMDR therapist will guide you through this process making sure you feel safe and secure throughout.

It's not necessary to dig up buried memories to start the process of healing. Furthermore, the goal of EMDR therapy is to reduce the disturbance of painful memories. You will be guided safely through a process of healing at a pace that feels safe and comfortable for you. 

It's not necessary to have painful or buried memories for EMDR to be effective. You can also process current situations that cause emotional stress.

You don't need to recall a specific incident for EMDR to be effective. If you resonate with the symptoms of trauma, you can begin by exploring your history to identify a particular feeling that stands out to you the most.

From there, what needs to surface and process may emerge and your therapist will guide you through anything that might be stuck.

Each person processes trauma in a different way. Initially, your therapist will guide you in building resources to prepare you for the EMDR phase of therapy.

Once beginning the EMDR process, you may begin to notice shifts within 3-5 sessions.

Some clients achieve their goals within 8-12 sessions and for those with complex or developmental trauma, it may be longer.

EMDR works best when used in conjunction with traditional therapy so you may want additional therapy sessions with a trauma therapist to process and integrate your experience.

EMDR Treatment (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing Therapy) is a technique that allows the brain to process and let go of trauma or upsetting life experiences. What we know about trauma is that when a person is in distress, the brain is unable to process information as it does normally. This can also impact your overall mental health. 

A disturbing experience or perception of a negative experience can be recorded in the body and left “frozen in time.” The disturbing or upsetting experience is stored with all the thoughts, feelings, sensations, sights, and sounds with it. This experience becomes “trapped” in the body's nervous system since the brain is unable to process it.

It may not be remembered or suppressed from consciousness, but it still impacts emotional reactivity and emotional functioning throughout the body. This is why, for example, a soldier may jump when hearing a loud sound such as a car backfire. The sound is stored in the body along with the traumatic experience and the body is still responding as if it were in the traumatic situation.

Often we tend to develop negative beliefs about ourselves related to these disturbing experiences, which then impact how we see the world and relate to others. For example, if you were abused, you may at a deep level believe that you are unlovable and perceive frequent rejection in interpersonal relationships.

EMDR therapy works by unlocking these negative beliefs and feelings from the nervous system and allows the brain to process them fully.

Through EMDR therapy new insights or information may surface which allows you to become “unstuck” from past experiences.  Images, sounds, feelings, and perceptions are remembered but the degree of stress and reactivity has been reduced.

How EMDR Therapy Works

From research on this particular form of psychotherapy, EMDR seems to have a direct effect on the way the brain processes information. The brain is no longer “frozen”.

EMDR practice is a structured therapy designed to help patients process trauma memories through bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements.

So after an EMDR therapy session, you no longer relive a traumatic experience when it is brought to mind. You will remember what happened, but it is less upsetting. This is why it is so powerful in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD.

Due to EMDR’s effectiveness in reducing symptoms of trauma and mental health, the World Health Organization, American Psychiatric Association, and Department of Veteran’s Affairs recommend EMDR for the treatment of PTSD.

Are Negative Thoughts and Feelings Weighing You Down?

After experiencing a disturbing event, negative thoughts and beliefs about the self can dominate. Generally, these are the feelings of not being good enough, not being safe, or not being in control. These beliefs of inadequacy, helplessness, or powerless can contribute to patterns of depression and impact most areas of your life.

Negative feelings can also become stuck. This can lead you to experience negative feelings in the present even though they're connected to the past. These feelings can impact your view of current situations, which may feel “true”.

Negative sensations associated with those feelings also surface and you may try to “avoid” experiencing them. Over time, these experiences can build up and lead to depression. EMDR therapy for depression helps you to heal traumatic experiences from the past and change the beliefs and negative thoughts you have about yourself.

Depression can occur after experiencing traumatic stress or a prolonged period of stress.

Examples might include:

• Loss of a loved one, particularly in a difficult or traumatic way
• Job loss and unemployment
• Relationship problems
• Long-term illness such as cancer; injuries or developmental delays
• Living with someone with mental illness such as depression or alcoholism
• Experiencing a traumatic event
• Experiencing emotional, verbal, physical, or sexual abuse
• Bullying or teasing
• Negative childhood experiences
• Accidents or injuries
• Experiences of being shamed
• Living in poverty

EMDR therapy for depression is most effective for people who have experienced some form of trauma or prolonged stress.

Depression is a symptom of the stress or trauma experienced.

Thus, through EMDR, you are treating the root cause of the depression. 

EMDR therapy for depression is one tool to help you overcome symptoms of depression. Depression is complicated.  So you may also benefit from traditional talk therapy for depression such as cognitive behavioral therapy. Medication for depression may also be helpful depending on the severity of your symptoms.

EMDR processing doesn't begin in your first session. First, your therapist will obtain background and together you will set goals. You can expect an EMDR therapy session to follow the follow phases of emdr therapy:

1. Build Skills for Safety

First, your EMDR therapist will help you develop safety and resiliency skills. This ensures you can feel safe and grounded throughout the process.

2. Identify a Specific Problem Focus

Next, you’ll identify a specific problem as the focus of your session. This could be related to grief, stress, anger, disturbing memories, distressing events, post-traumatic stress, etc.

Traumatic stress studies have validated the effectiveness of EMDR therapy, highlighting its approval by notable organizations such as the American Psychological Association and the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies.

3. Explore the Impact of the Trauma

You will then explore negative thoughts, beliefs, feelings and uncomfortable physical sensations you've developed as a result of that experience. For example, feeling on edge, self-esteem issues, images you hold in your mind, or beliefs such as “I'm worthless”.

4. Visit the Specific Traumatic Memory in a New Way

Your EMDR therapist will gently guide you to visit the specific traumatic memory, this time experiencing it in a new way. You don't need to discuss anything specifically, just notice what is present including any body sensations.

5. Stimulate Both Sides of Your Brain Through Eye Movement, Touch, Light or Sensation

At the same time, your therapist will facilitate movement of your eyes right and left. Other right-left forms of stimulation may also be used. Such as holding buzzers that alternate vibrating in your right and left hands, tapping on your right and left leg or using a light bar. (This is referred to as “bilateral stimulation.”) This has your brain processing two things at once – the movement and the experience you just identified.

6. Continue this Process Until the Problem is Less Disturbing & Positive Beliefs are Formed

This process continues until the targeted memories or specific problem becomes less disturbing and is associated with positive thoughts and beliefs about one's self.

By combining the memory with the stimulation, the body is able to process and release the trauma stored in your body and develop new, positive beliefs.

Most people experience a great reduction in the level of disturbance of the problem or traumatic events. EMDR is most effective when used in conjunction with traditional therapy.