What is EMDR & How Does it Treat Trauma?
Do you feel stuck in the past? Are you dwelling over something that happened a few months or even a few years ago? Are you wondering when you can move on? Moving on isn't always easy or straightforward. Sometimes processing specific events, especially traumatic ones, can be highly challenging. When a traumatic event happens, you want nothing more than to forget about it. But sometimes, your body and brain have other plans.
When remnants of the traumatic event creep into your present and affect your day-to-day, it's a good sign that it may be time to reach out for help. Therapy is a great way to talk to a licensed, trained, and unbiased third party. A therapist or counselor can give you the tools you need to help you cope or overcome your trauma.
A more specific approach of therapy like Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) may be recommended if you find yourself constantly repeating the traumatic event in your head, experiencing flashbacks, or enduring physical symptoms. Let's learn more about EMDR and how it treats trauma.
What is EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a therapy technique that helps individuals suffering from psychological distress find some relief. It's another option to ordinary talk therapy. EMDR was founded on the idea that symptoms occur when an adverse event, like a trauma, overwhelms the brain's natural ability to heal. In order to help reset the brain to heal on its own, bilateral stimulation or eye movement is incorporated when a client is revisiting their trauma during a therapy session.
During EMDR, you are guided through memories, eye movements, and sometimes tapping to help reprocess and repair the memories related to your trauma. This is a great way for individuals to experience their trauma in a safe environment. Over time, those traumatic memories won't affect or cause any symptoms.
EMDR Process
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) has eight phases:
History
Client Preparation
Assessment
Desensitization
Installation
Body Scan
Closure
Reevaluation of Treatment
What if You Can't Remember Your Trauma?
If you can't remember everything about your trauma, that's okay. It's actually completely normal if you can't remember every detail surrounding your trauma. Your brain naturally stores memories. During negative events, your brain can almost appear offline as a fight or flight response as a way to help protect and keep you safe. Because of this, there may be a disconnect between what you experience and what you remember. EMDR is a great tool if you don't want to talk about or can't remember your trauma.
It can be even more difficult for you to process and overcome or heal from these memories because your brain relives the trauma when you are triggered. Instead of having to talk in detail about the trauma, EMDR focuses instead on changing your emotions, thoughts, and behavior related to it. By incorporating EMDR, your brain will reset to its natural healing ability.
Next Steps
EMDR has several advantages. It is a highly effective form of therapy. EMDR has been proven to treat a variety of disorders like anxiety, depression, chronic pain, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance abuse.
Compared to other forms of therapy, people have reported seeing results a lot sooner. Clients have also said EMDR is a lot less stressful due to not having to talk about their past trauma and what brought them to therapy each week. It also requires much less homework or work done outside the therapy sessions.
Contact me today to set up a consultation if you're interested in learning more about how EMDR therapy can help heal your trauma.