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EMDR - Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a trauma protocol that helps clients process upsetting memories, thoughts, and feelings related to trauma. By processing these experiences, one often finds relief from unwanted symptoms of trauma.
This EMDR protocol for trauma counseling was a therapeutic and scientific breakthrough that began with Francine Shapiro back in the 1980s, and has been developing ever since. Today it is a well-tested and evidence-based approach to trauma that is being applied to a wide variety of mental health issues by practitioners all across the globe.
The protocol involves bringing to mind the troubling material (a memory or series of memories, usually), while being connected to oneself and the safety of the here-and-now, all while being guided by an experienced clinician (Note: New Life supports high clinical training in all things, including EMDR. All our EMDR therapists have gone through EMDRIA approved training, and we also have an EMDR Consultant on our team). EMDR can be used for difficult memories from a very long time ago (even when the memory itself isn’t very clear) and also it can be used for recent traumatic events. There are many unique protocols that the clinical can use to apply EMDR in a variety of situations.
What is trauma?
Oftentimes people think that in order to attend trauma counseling, one must have experienced a very intense event such as abuse or being the victim of a crime or a natural disaster. And while EMDR is, in fact, very helpful for those traumatic situations, “trauma” per se actually indicates a wider realm of human experience, namely: any time that the stress response system is overwhelmed beyond the capacity of the individual to process what is happening at the moment of the event.
Thus, trauma can happen in many different kinds of situations, not limited to but possibly including: adverse childhood circumstances such as poverty or immigration, growing up in chaos or with an alcoholic parent, betrayal trauma from an affair, death or severe illness of family members, accidents such as car wrecks or debilitating injuries, prolonged duress of any kind such as experiences of racism or bullying, or work situations that threaten one’s livelihood or ability to provide, etc.
Truly, the list could go on. Ultimately what constitutes a “traumatic event” is determined by the individual and their nervous system, with contributing factors being the relationship system in which they exist and the availability of resources at the time of the crisis.
What is a stress response?
Each person has a “window of tolerance” for stress, and if someone is repeatedly outside this window of tolerance, the chronic stress (or very intense acute stress) neurologically makes it impossible to make sense of the event in real time. Some common trauma responses include freezing, shutting down, dissociating or disconnecting from oneself or one’s surroundings, or acting out towards others in intense ways. Due to the overwhelm of the nervous system, the memory of the event (or series of events) gets stored in its raw unprocessed state, full of the emotional reactivity and intensity of that moment. This raw reaction can be “triggered” when the person is reminded of or thinks about that situation, such that years later, the person is still reacting emotionally and physically as if the event was still occurring. Thus, the Adaptive Information Processing model cites such unprocessed raw material as contribution to a myriad of mental health issues and bodily ailments.
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The thing to know is that in a trauma moment, one is not in control of one’s response, but rather the automatic stress response has taken over. Processing the trauma is about allowing the mind and body to be able to process the situation and learn from it at last.
Please note that this is just a brief overview of trauma counseling and EMDR, and cannot be in any way comprehensive.
How does it work?
How does one stay connected to the present, while processing the trauma? Well, in a nutshell, through Bilateral Stimulation/Dual Attention Stimulus (BL/DAS). There are many forms of BL/DAS, including the therapist providing visual stimulation with the original side to side hand movements (and the client’s eyes follow the therapist's hand), using “tappers” which are little plastics nodes that a person holds in each hand that buzz in an alternating pattern, light bars wherein a light moves across a bar (for the client to follow with their eyes), and even self-tapping wherein the clients taps their toes alternately, or taps their knees, etc. Your EMDR therapist may use any or all of the above means (and there are more) to provide BL/DAS.
The BL/DAS helps the client stay grounded and connected in the present while the distressing memory is attended to, and this is what contributes to the mind being able to adaptively process the memory and dissolve the associated emotional reactivity and body tension, bit by bit.
The therapist acts as a skilled guide to ensure successful processing. Once the client fully processes the memory (there are several stages to this), the subjective experience of distress is also fully dissolved and the previously activated or painful places in the body become relaxed and free of tension. For more information on the mechanisms of EMDR (what makes it work), please refer to the website below.
Where do I start?
If you are interested in EMDR, make sure to indicate that on your online request for services. The therapist who contacts you will help create a treatment plan wherein it will be determined if EMDR could be helpful to meet your therapeutic goals. You should feel free to ask the therapist any questions about EMDR before beginning, and indeed the first phase of EMDR is simply Preparation, wherein the therapist walks the client through the basics of this trauma protocol.
Reach out today if you have had other talk therapies not provide results or have felt stuck, or if you continue to struggle with memories from the past interrupting your ability to engage in life the way you’d like to be able to do. We are ready and able to incorporate this incredibly helpful protocol into your treatment towards your transformation, growth and flourishing.