Could EMDR Help Me?

By Samantha Rogers, LCSW

I am continuously amazed by the strength and resilience of human beings and honored to be able to walk alongside my patients in their journeys.

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What is EMDR?

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a type of therapy meant to access memories where they are stored in the brain and body. In short, it is believed that certain memories can become “stuck” and lead to dysfunction in our daily lives. EMDR therapy helps you to locate these “stuck” memories, activate them, and reprocess them to reduce the vividness and intense emotional response that is associated with the memory. There is also typically a generalization effect that helps people respond more effectively to stressful or traumatic situations in the future. Memories are reprocessed through “bilateral stimulation,” rhythmic left-right stimuli like eye movements, sounds in alternating ears, or physical sensations like taps or vibrations. The goal of EMDR therapy is to reduce the distress and dysfunction caused by difficult memories while enhancing resilience and internal capacity to cope (Shapiro, 2018).

What does eye movement have to do with it?

EMDR was developed by Francine Shapiro in the late 1980’s. Shapiro discovered the phenomenon of using eye movements to reduce distress by accident. She noticed that as she watched leaves falling, drifting back and forth through the air, her distressing thoughts became less so. When she returned to the thoughts later, they were still more neutral than before.

Shapiro began testing her theory on colleagues and friends, and she quickly developed EMD (Eye Movement Desensitization). She went on to validate this method through controlled studies. The studies showed that individuals who had experienced past trauma were able to reduce distress throughout the course of treatment and maintain the effect well after treatment was completed. Over time, they came to discover that not only were the participants becoming desensitized to past traumatic events, they were changing their relationship to these memories and experiences (i.e. reprocessing the memories). Thus, a paradigm shift occurred, and EMD became what we know today as EMDR (Shapiro, 2018).

How do I know if EMDR could help me?

EMDR is highly effective if you have experienced trauma that has caused or contributed to distress and dysfunction in your life. If you answer “yes” to any of the following questions, EMDR Therapy may be appropriate for you.

• Have you experienced past trauma?
• Have you recently experienced a significant traumatic event? (ex: a natural disaster, an assault, a car accident, etc.)
• Do you have thoughts, behaviors, reactions, dreams, and/or memories that frequently interrupt your daily life?
• Are you grieving a significant loss?
• Do you often feel as though “the past is present?” In other words, do you have difficulty differentiating past feelings and experiences from those occurring in the present?
• Do you want to increase your internal capacity to cope with stressful events as they arise in your life?

EMDR can also help treat anxiety, phobias, certain aspects of addiction, ongoing stressors (ex: first responder work), performance anxiety/“stage fright,” somatic disorders, chronic pain, and many other diagnoses and symptoms (Shapiro, 2018).

What can I expect from EMDR therapy?

EMDR uses what we call the “three-pronged approach,” which consists of:

• Preparation — First, your therapist will evaluate your readiness for EMDR Therapy. From there, your therapist will work with you to determine the focus of your treatment (e.g.: grief, anxiety, PTSD, etc.). You will spend time learning about the EMDR process, as well as preparing for the reprocessing. You and your therapist will work together to collect your history and create a comprehensive treatment plan that addresses the past, present, and future. During this time you will also begin “resourcing.” This resourcing stage can take anywhere from 1-2 sessions to several weeks or months, and it is a crucial step in the EMDR process.
  • Your resources are coping tools meant to help you self-soothe and regulate both during and outside of sessions. Your therapist will often start by learning what tools you already use and enjoy, then teach you some more specific to EMDR. Two common resources are visualization tools: The Container (creating a place in your mind in which you can imagine storing distressing material) and the Safe Calm State (creating a place, real or imagined, that you can go to in your mind to feel a sense of safety and/or calm).
• Reprocessing — Your therapist will guide you through your treatment plan using the EMDR approach, which includes the use of bilateral stimulation, or BLS. BLS can be tactile, auditory, or visual. This is the central piece of EMDR Therapy and is generally expected to last around 8-12 sessions. However, it is not uncommon for reprocessing to take significantly more or less time, depending on the focus of treatment.
  • Common examples of BLS:
    • Tactile – gentle pulsating sensation delivered by handheld buzzers that are controlled by the therapist
    • Auditory – soft tone going back and forth in headphones
    • Visual – various eye movements
• Follow up — After working through your treatment plan, your therapist will typically follow up with you regarding the focus of your treatment in a few weeks to ensure your initial symptoms are still reduced and no new symptoms have arisen.

Aside from this, there are some other things to consider before beginning EMDR:

• EMDR Therapy can be incredibly taxing on both the mind and body, especially in early sessions. You can expect to be very tired following a reprocessing session and should generally avoid making important plans after a session (at least until you know how you respond).
• Processing/Reprocessing will likely continue in between sessions. This can include new insights, thoughts, dreams, and memories. This new information can be distressing and you should be honest with your therapist about any disturbances you experience throughout EMDR Therapy. However, your therapist will work with you before beginning reprocessing, as well as throughout the process, to develop resources to cope with any distress.
• EMDR is quite different from the traditional “talk therapy” you may be used to. First and foremost, you do not need to discuss the specific details of the issues you are working on — just the “headlines,” or most important points. Secondly, your therapist will talk very little and generally will not directly engage with the material you bring up in reprocessing. This is to allow you to continue with the reprocessing and move through the information more quickly.
• Your therapist is there as a guide throughout EMDR Therapy, but your brain will be doing all of the work to heal and reprocess. It is important to “trust the process” and remain open to allowing the mind to go where it needs to go to heal. Sometimes, certain memories may not feel connected to you, but there are subconscious links that your mind can follow. Your therapist is a great guide to help you explore these memory networks.
• EMDR Therapy requires trust and vulnerability with your therapist. Reprocessing should never move forward until both you and your therapist believe you are ready. It is okay if you do not feel ready to go through EMDR right now. It is also okay if you decide that EMDR is not right for you and you would rather pursue other types of therapy. It is your healing process and you have the right to remain in control of your treatment.

Finding an EMDR Therapist

EMDR is a powerful, often life-changing intervention. Still, it is important to make an informed decision before pursuing it. If you think EMDR may be right for you, the first step is to find a trained provider who can take you through the process.

Great Lakes Psychology Group’s network of therapists includes EMDR-trained providers. To instantly book an appointment with an EMDR therapist in our network, visit Find My Therapist to be matched with a therapist who provides EMDR. Another great resource for finding a trained provider is the EMDR International Association (EMDRIA) Therapist Directory.

If you’d like to learn more about EMDR, check out EMDRIA and the EMDR Institute.

Source:

Shapiro, Francine. (2018). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy: Basic principles, protocols, and procedures (3rd Edition). The Guilford Press.