What does EMDR mean?
Similar to the military or large corporations, the mental health profession is replete with acronyms, and this particular one is a mouthful. EMDR stands for "Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing" and I use EMDR to treat a variety of symptoms, but most prominently it is used to treat trauma.
What is EMDR?
You can go online and find a myriad of technical definitions as to how EMDR works from both a clinical and neurological perspective, but I want to share with you how I present EMDR to clients.
Suppose a client presents with recurring nightmares of an event, or images that are "seared" into their brain, and the recollection of these events are highly emotional and disturbing. The reason for this is that they are still what we would call an "active memory."
The 4 criteria for an active memory are:
Seeing the image/event in color (instead of black/white)
Visualizing it in the first-person perspective (rather than third person)
Replaying the event as if it were a video (as opposed to snapshots)
Having negative emotions attached to the memory/event
When we experience a trauma, our brain neurochemically cuts itself off from the our brain stem and the rest of our body.
During this "disconnect"during a moment of trauma, our brain is unable to process what we witness with our eyes (frontal lobe) to the receptor for our eyes (occipital lobe). The images/sensations then get frozen-in-time in our amygdala (temporal lobe). I tend to explain it as if you were downloading a software update on your computer, and you decide to power it off in the middle of the update - Things become fragmented and aren't allowed to complete. This is why clients experiences many of the criteria for an active memory when recollecting traumatic events.
How does EMDR work?
By our eyes moving back and forth, called "bilateral stimulation" we are able to "unfreeze" the active memories and allow them to process correctly. Bilateral stimulation allows us to properly integrate both hemispheres of our brain; oftentimes, I have clients state that the logically know something to be true (left brain), but yet they still feel a different way (right brain). This is where EMDR can be extremely helpful.
I always ensure to inform my clients that I cannot change your memory; however, we can change the way we think about our memories. The goal of EMDR is to reduce/eliminate the negative emotions associated with the event and to resolve the negative belief that we have developed about ourselves - and install a positive belief in its place.
What does EMDR look like?
The gift of EMDR is that there is not necessarily a lot of talking involved; rather, it is more neurological in nature - we are letting your brain do the work for you! Sometimes, clients state that they are tired of telling their story over and over again to a therapist - if this is you, EMDR may be an excellent treatment option.
Below is an image of the light-bar that I use for EMDR to produce the bilateral stimulation I mentioned previously:
Essentially, the lights on the bar move from side-to-side (bilateral stimulation), which enables the client to focus their active mind while simultaneously focusing their inactive mind on the event. The client watches (tracks) the light with their eyes while keeping their head centered (not moving from side to side). While each situation is different, this tracking usually lasts for 20-30 seconds. At that time, the client is asked "What came up?" This is free association, and I have no predetermined expectations - there is no right or wrong answer. I then tell the client to "Go with that," meaning to continue focusing on the thought/image/sensation that came up while watching the lights again.
I jokingly tell my clients that I spent 3 years of graduate school to simply say 3 words.
Is EMDR right for me?
If you struggle with disturbing memories of events and/or negative core beliefs, EMDR may be an effective modality for you. I'd encourage you to reach out to a trained therapist who can properly diagnose your unique situation. If you're in the KC area, feel free to contact me for a consultation!
For more information about EMDR and additional resources, please visit the EMDR International Association's website here
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