What Is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR was founded by Francine Shapiro in the 1980s after she conducted research on clients with traumatic memories and symptoms. Research has continued since 1989 and EMDR is now accepted as an evidence-based practice proven effective in treating mental health disorders.
Rather than merely address trauma symptoms on a surface level, EMDR aims to help us heal by treating the root cause of our struggles. When disturbing or negative events happen to us, our brain encodes these memories in a way we can’t always control. Once the memories are encoded, the neurons in our brain fire together in the same way that repeats itself even when the traumatic event has passed This is how past memories can influence present situations.
The stronger the emotional encoding from a traumatic experience, the more influential the past can be on our present-day experience and our beliefs about ourselves and our world. If we have a triggering experience in the present that activates memories of trauma, we go back into the same negative mindset that made us experience trauma symptoms in the first place.
Thankfully, the brain has neuroplasticity and can change throughout your lifespan. With EMDR therapy, we can help you resolve the negative beliefs and emotions that stem from trauma and replace them with life-affirming beliefs and more positive emotions.
How Effective is EMDR?
Current scientific research confirms the effectiveness of EMDR. The American Psychiatric Association has given EMDR the same status as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) as an effective treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Additionally, the World Health Organization states that EMDR and CBT are the only psychotherapies recommended for children, adolescents, and adults with PTSD. Furthermore, the Department of Veteran Affairs and the Department of Defense consistently use EMDR treatment and have awarded EMDR with one of the highest levels of effectiveness for treatment for PTSD.
EMDR treatment can be used to treat a single traumatic event—like a car accident or a natural disaster—or to revise negative beliefs about ourselves that come about from negative childhood experiences. Research conducted on a large variety of client populations—including those suffering from grief, chronic pain, self-esteem, panic disorders, anxiety disorders, migraine headaches, attachment disorders, and depression—has proven the efficacy of EMDR on a wide range of issues. Randomized clinical trials conducted by Capezzani et al (2013) reported that after 8 sessions of treatment, EMDR therapy “was superior to a variety of Cognitive Behavioral therapy techniques. Almost all the patients (20 out of 21) did not have PTSD after EMDR treatment.”
How Does EMDR Therapy Work?
When I implement EMDR with my clients, there are several phases to the treatment. First, I will build a positive, safe relationship with you and model unconditional acceptance of your experience. Then I will complete a survey to get to know you and determine whether EMDR is the best treatment option. From there, we will identify the traumatic event and pinpoint the negative beliefs associated with it. This will help us understand how the traumatic experience has been encoded into your memory.
Next, we will process your memory of the incident using bilateral stimulation. This part of therapy uses rapid eye movement to replicate what happens during deep sleep (or REM). Bilateral stimulation will allow us to resolve traumatic memories by accessing and rewiring neural networks in your brain. This, in turn, can help you create new insights, emotions, and positive beliefs.
To help you resolve the incident on a deeper level, I will help you identify and acknowledge where in your body you are feeling painful emotions so that they can be processed in a healthy way. Then, in the final phase, I will make sure you have the resources necessary to maintain stability, such as guided visualizations and breathwork techniques that soothe and calm the body and mind. Together, we will make sure you have accomplished your treatment goals and that you have adopted a more positive perception of yourself and your world.
The use of EMDR can be compared to a computer. When a traumatic event (a document) is created, it gets deposited into your brain’s working memory (the computer hard drive). In EMDR treatment, the brain’s memory (hard drive) is re-opened and revised (saved over). Once therapy is completed, the memory (document) is re-saved in your brain’s hippocampus (hard drive). Therefore, when you hit “save as,” you are able to store the positive updates you have made to that memory. In this way, memories do not have to remain fixed and unchanging in how they affect you.
EMDR treatment can be used for children, adolescents, teens, and adults. Sometimes, I will implement EMDR as a way to open up and resolve a client’s traumas and then move into emotionally focused talk therapy to continue the therapeutic journey with them. EMDR is very effective with clients via teletherapy.
My Background In EMDR Therapy
I am a certified EMDR therapist and have been using EMDR since I was trained by Roy Kiessling in 2019. I continue to participate in EMDR education workshops to deepen my knowledge of the approach and strengthen my ability to utilize it. I have witnessed the effectiveness of EMDR firsthand and have seen the life-changing ways that the brain can heal. I want the same for you. Using EMDR, I am confident that I can help you heal from negative emotions and live with a more positive mindset.
Find Out How EMDR Therapy Can Help You
I offer a free 15-minute phone consultation and can be reached through my contact page or at 561-866-6607.
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