​EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a therapeutic modality that focuses on healing trauma and adverse life experiences. EMDR was developed in the 1980’s by Francine Shapiro to help address and alleviate distress associated with post traumatic stress disorder. It is now widely used to treat anxiety, panic attacks, depression, anger, phobias, sleep problems, grief and loss, addictions, performance anxiety and eating disorders. It has been extensively researched and proven effective in treating trauma and adverse life events.

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EMDR posits that the main source of psychopathology is the presence of memories of adverse life events or traumas that have been inadequately processed. These unprocessed memories, which also include negative beliefs, sensations and emotions that occurred at the time of the event, can be triggered by current internal and external stimuli; leading to ongoing dysfunction. The traumatic material causes blockages or an imbalance in the nervous system, much like if a physical wound was trying to heal but objects of repeated injury continue to irritate the wound leading to increased pain. EMDR works to activate the brains natural healing powers and remove the blockages, much like when physical objects are removed the wound can heal.

EMDR Therapy accesses and processes these past adverse life memories or traumatic memories through the AIP (Adaptive Information Processing) model and replaces the negative beliefs with positive ones, along with decreasing the emotional and/or physical intensity associated with the memory or memories.

 

What happens during an EMDR session?

 

EMDR therapy consists of a “three-pronged” protocol (past, present and future). The beginning phases  (which can take anywhere from 1 to 3 sessions) involves history taking, exploring themes and negative beliefs that keep you stuck and discussing resources that are used when feeling stressed. The second stage is called “Reprocessing.” During this phase you will be asked to bring up the distressing memory that was discussed during the history taking, along with answering a series of questions such as the associated negative belief, body sensations and emotions that are surfacing when talking about the memory. In traditional EDMR, eye movements are used by following the therapists fingers back and forth, however sometimes other forms are used such as, tactile buzzers, a bar of moving lights or headphones. The eye movements will last for a short while and then stop. The therapist will ask what you notice; any thoughts, body sensations or memories. Then the therapist will say “Go with that.” This process will last anywhere from 20 to 35 minutes depending on the client (and the client can stop at anytime before the end of reprocessing). With repeated eye movements the memory and associated negative cognition often decreases in distress level and becomes a neutral memory of an event in the past. Other associated memories may also heal at the same time, leading to a rapid improvement in many areas of your life. The number of sessions is based on how many memories/adverse life events you want to work on. The third and final phase is about processing what is needed for the future to accomplish desired goals. Successful managing of reprocessing any blocks when you think about a future scene and to visualize healthy managing of future events.

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