Understanding EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an extensively researched, effective psychotherapy method proven to help people recover from trauma and other distressing life experiences, including PTSD, anxiety, depression and panic disorders.
This form of therapy is based on research suggesting that traumatic events can prevent the brain from processing information as it normally does, which results in these events getting “stuck” in the brain’s information processing center. So, when someone who experienced a trauma recalls it, the memory triggers an intense re-experiencing of the original event, complete with all of its upsetting sights, sounds, smells, thoughts and feelings. New incidents have the same effect.
EMDR therapy uses eye movements or other alternate hemisphere stimulation to remove the emotional charges of traumatic memories. Researchers believe the therapy activates mechanisms in the brain that help you process the memory and distressing emotions.
It can help people recover from trauma and other distressing conditions. The goal of EMDR treatment is the rapid processing of information about a negative experience and movement towards an adaptive resolution. When EMDR is effective, a person who undergoes it comes to understand, both consciously in their mind and unconsciously in the physical functioning of their brain, that the event is in the past and no longer a threat. This means a reduction in distress, a shift from a negative belief to a more positive one, and the possibility of more optimal behavior in relationships and at work. It is often used with people who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a lasting emotional response to severe trauma that changes the nervous system.
Who can benefit from EMDR therapy?
EMDR therapy helps children and adults of all ages. Therapists use this form of therapy to address a wide range of challenges:
Anxiety, panic attacks, and phobias
Chronic illness and medical issues
Depression and bipolar disorders
Dissociative disorders
Eating disorders
Grief and loss
Pain
Performance anxiety
Personality disorders
PTSD and other trauma and stress-related issues
Sexual assault
Sleep disturbance
Substance abuse and addiction
Violence and abuse
How does EMDR therapy affect the brain?
Our brains have a natural way to recover from traumatic memories and events. This process involves communication among the amygdala (the alarm signal for stressful events), the hippocampus (which assists with learning, including memories about safety and danger), and the prefrontal cortex (which analyzes and controls behavior and emotion). While many times traumatic experiences can be managed and resolved spontaneously, they may not always be processed without help.
Stress responses are part of our natural fight, flight, or freeze instincts. When distress from a disturbing event remains, the upsetting images, thoughts and emotions may create an overwhelming feeling of being back in that moment or of being frozen in time. EMDR therapy helps the brain process these memories, and allows normal healing to resume. The experience is still remembered, but the fight, flight, or freeze responses from the original event are resolved.
What to expect in EMDR therapy
EMDR therapy focuses on helping enhance brain function to accelerate the healing process of defragmenting trauma held in the body. It involves eight phases that incorporate a variety of elements, including looking at past memories, current triggers and skills and behaviors that can help you in the future.
What does the research say?
The American Psychiatric Association and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs have recognized EMDR therapy as an effective treatment for PTSD, as well as a promising treatment for other conditions.
You can learn more about EMDR therapy on the Amen Clinics’ website and by visiting the EMDR International Association’s website.