Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a powerful and effective way to treat trauma, and is an evidence-based therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It uses eye movements or other bilateral stimulation such as tapping to process and release information trapped in the mind and body. This in turn frees people from disturbing images and body sensations, crippling emotions, and restrictive beliefs. EMDR has helped many to recover from traumas such as war, accidents, assaults, disasters, and childhood abuse.
Apart from treating PTSD, EMDR is also used to treat the psychological effects of smaller traumas that manifest in symptoms of depression, anxiety, phobias, low self-esteem, creativity blocks, and relationship difficulties. EMDR can clear emotional and physical blockages and can allow healing to occur much more rapidly than traditional therapy. As a result, many people are better able to experience a sense of joy, openness, and deep connection with others following treatment with EMDR (Parnell Institute, 2021).
EMDR will not remove anything useful or necessary. It will clear what is dysfunctional and nothing that one needs for functioning. An underlying principle of EMDR is that “basic health resides within all of us” (Parnell, 2007). In theory, the body-mind has a natural information processing system that works to process and integrate information. This system gets interrupted when confronted with a trauma, which then causes an ongoing array of PTSD symptoms, similar to a blocked wound in the body. In EMDR, to activate the information processing systems, one is asked to focus on a “target” related to the trauma, such as a memory with the image, emotions, body sensations, and negative beliefs associated with it. Through this target, the memory network where the trauma is stored can be stimulated. Alternating eye movements or bilateral stimulation (BLS) are added to stimulate accelerated information processing (Sharpiro, 2018). This accelerated information processing enables one to draw on information between the memory networks to find insight and understanding. Each set of BLS unlocks the disturbing information and accelerates it along an adaptive path until one returns to a state of balance and integration. Some clients process so quickly that it can even be difficult for the therapist to believe they have cleared the material so quickly.
EMDR can help you to get in touch with a bodily sense of rightness or truth. You learn to feel what is true for you. During EMDR processing, you can sort through what others have told you about yourself, what you believe you should think or feel, and then arrive at what you feel to be true. You can also develop an attunement to your own inner wisdom, which you might have been taught to censor or dismiss as a child. In EMDR, the therapist follows and facilitates the EMDR process without interpretation or criticism. This enables you to listen to yourself, and observe and report your experiences with less judgment and aversion. While learning to be attuned to your body and mind, you will learn to integrate this felt sense of rightness into your daily life. You will also become more sensitive to a bodily sense of right and wrong and learn to trust and listen to your body wisdom.
You might also want to watch this video on the Secrets of EMDR Therapy and How It can Help You: https://youtu.be/HNdMHuwvF_M
References
Parnell Institute. (2021). What Are EMDR and AF-EMDR. Retrieved from Parnell Institute: https://parnellemdr.com/emdr-and-af-emdr/
Parnell, L. (2007). A Therapist’s Guide to EMDR: Tools and Techniques for Successful Treatment. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Sharpiro, F. (2018). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy: Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures. New York: The Guilford Press.
