What is EMDR and How Might it Help Me?
If you sometimes feel like you understand your trauma, you’ve talked about your trauma, but it’s still impacting you - your experience is not uncommon. Research tells us that trauma is stored in the body, not just the brain. When we only talk about traumatic experiences, we might understand well what has happened to us, which is important, but not the whole story. To experience relief from symptoms, many folks need a deeper level of processing. EMDR is one well supported tool for such processing.
What is EMDR?
EMDR stands for “Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.” It is a trauma processing modality that relies on the AIP or “Adaptive Information Processing” approach.
When we experience a trauma, our body has a response to help protect us. This might look like fighting, running away, or shutting down, depending on the situation. Sometimes, the body is able to fully complete that protective response and the hormones that are activated to bring about the response naturally move through our body. In this case, there likely is not a lasting physiological encoding of that trauma in the body. For many folks, that response is not able to be fully completed, leaving shadows of that trauma encoded in the body. In this case, there are subconscious responses to triggers of that trauma that can echo for years. This is where folks get stuck without resolution. They may understand the trigger, but their body is still trying to complete that loop.
This is where EMDR comes in. With EMDR, clients are able to access the part of the brain that feels, rather than thinks. In doing so, the brain and body are able to reprocess the traumatic experience in a safe environment and complete the original response. This doesn’t remove the memory, but it reduces the emotional and physiological activation associated.
What does an EMDR session look like?
EMDR uses bilateral stimulation to help the brain access the feeling (as opposed to thinking) state. Bilateral stimulation can be achieved in several different ways including via eye movement, bilateral taps, or hand held buzzers. These are all methods the client fully controls themself with only verbal guidance from the therapist.
The EMDR process is highly structured, meaning the therapist follows specific, researched steps to help the client safely and effectively re-approach the traumatic memory. In session, you can expect a bit of set up time, little verbal processing, and lots of internal processing with brief check-ins from your therapist along the way. Your mind may take you in unexpected directions, which is completely normal and part of the brain making the connections it needs to feel safe again.
After completing an EMDR session, clients report feeling a wide range of emotions: relief, distress, exhaustion, peace, and more. The therapist will work with the client to manage these emotions as they come up and help the client ground outside of session. EMDR may take multiple sessions to complete processing of a specific memory, but at the end of this journey, clients often report significant relief in distress.
When can EMDR be used?
In my practice in Phoenix, AZ, I work with folks with a wide range of trauma histories for which EMDR is helpful. This may include acute trauma (a stand alone incident that was highly distressing) and complex trauma (ongoing abuse, neglect, or dysfunction can have this effect). EMDR can be integrated in both individual therapy and couples therapy. EMDR can be a stand alone treatment, or, more often, is an important tool in the therapeutic process. We may start with making sense of the story, then learning tools to manage day to day distress, then as trust is built, move into deeper processing to support long term relief.
What should I do if I think EMDR might be a good fit for me?
It’s important to find a therapist who is trained in EMDR. In addition, finding someone who specializes in the specific issue you’re hoping to address with EMDR may be even better. Finally, finding someone you feel genuinely comfortable and safe with is extremely important - trauma work can be so vulnerable and feeling safe with the person guiding you through the process is a significant predictor of success.
If you’re interested in EMDR for yourself, you can always reach out for a free consultation to learn more - I’d love to connect you with the right person to support you in your journey!
The content of this blog is for education purposes only and is not therapy or advice. Reach out to a licensed professional for specific support or call 911 if you are having a mental health crisis.
Written by: Emma Beale, MA, LAC, Owner of Superbloom Therapy Services
