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UNDERSTANDING EMDR
The mind has a natural way of healing, just as the body does when an injury occurs. The way the mind accomplishes this is through REM sleep. In 1987 Francine Shapiro developed a method to mimic REM sleep in an awake state, and EMDR, Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing, emerged in the world of mental health. There is a mountain of evidence after rigorous research to prove that it is an effective treatment not only for PTSD yet many of the issues that people seek counseling to overcome, such as anxiety, depression, grief, and negative belief systems.
HOW DOES TRAUMA WORK IN THE MIND
The mind constantly manages experiences, processes them, and properly stores them in the brain. When a person experiences something that is out of the ordinary or is repeatedly exposed to a stressor, the brain struggles to process and store the information correctly, and the ability to use natural coping mechanisms becomes overloaded. The experience can remain unprocessed and frozen in the brain, which activates the part of the brain that controls the fight, flight, or freeze response (the limbic system). This part of the brain is the home of our most complex emotions, such as anger and love. The traumatic memory is held in a raw and emotionally suspended state, easily triggered by experiences resembling the trauma. Over time, the memory may fade, yet the emotional agitation does not disappear. The mental unrest this causes makes it difficult sometimes to think, process information, live in the moment, and learn new experiences.
WHAT HAPPENS DURING AN EMDR SESSION
In the EMDR process, you will be asked specific questions about a particular disturbing memory. Using a light bar, you will track the light to move your eyes much as you would in REM sleep. The term used in EMDR for tracking the light is bilateral stimulation. The right hemisphere is overactivated when trauma hijacks the limbic system, and the left hemisphere cannot self-soothe the right hemisphere. Bilateral stimulation causes both hemispheres to be activated, bypassing the stuck right hemisphere of the brain caused by the trauma. The eye movements will occur for a short period and then stop. After following the light, you will then be asked to report what you experienced. Changes are often reported in thoughts, feelings, and sensations in the body.
With repeated sets of eye movements, clients process the experience in a way that creates some peaceful resolution, which is the desensitization portion of EMDR. With the help of a therapist, who works as a guide in the process, the perception of the experience can change so that the experience can finally be stored appropriately in the cerebral cortex, the reprocessing of EMDR. The limbic system is soothed, and the memory becomes just a memory without the raw emotional sensations. Essentially, the memory is neutralized and loses its painful intensity. While the memory is reprocessed, other associated memories may heal simultaneously.
Some resources are created before the tracking of the light begins to help calm you should you feel overwhelmed in the process. We can stop and use these resources and start again when you feel ready. You are in charge and are encouraged to advocate for yourself in the process.
With repeated sets of eye movements, clients process the experience in a way that creates some peaceful resolution, which is the desensitization portion of EMDR. With the help of a therapist, who works as a guide in the process, the perception of the experience can change so that the experience can finally be stored appropriately in the cerebral cortex, the reprocessing of EMDR. The limbic system is soothed, and the memory becomes just a memory without the raw emotional sensations. Essentially, the memory is neutralized and loses its painful intensity. While the memory is reprocessed, other associated memories may heal simultaneously.
Some resources are created before the tracking of the light begins to help calm you should you feel overwhelmed in the process. We can stop and use these resources and start again when you feel ready. You are in charge and are encouraged to advocate for yourself in the process.
***EMDR should be administered only by a licensed clinician that has been specifically trained in EMDR through the EMDR Institute.
***Be cautious of other therapies that claim to "be like" EMDR or "use parts" of EMDR. EMDR is an 8-Phase approach that contains procedures that have been thoroughly examined by researchers. This is an evidence based practice, which means that it has been tested and analyzed for efficacy. The body of empirical and statistical data that supports this technique is impressive.
***To check on my credentials or to find a EMDR Institute trained therapist please go the the following EMDR link
***Be cautious of other therapies that claim to "be like" EMDR or "use parts" of EMDR. EMDR is an 8-Phase approach that contains procedures that have been thoroughly examined by researchers. This is an evidence based practice, which means that it has been tested and analyzed for efficacy. The body of empirical and statistical data that supports this technique is impressive.
***To check on my credentials or to find a EMDR Institute trained therapist please go the the following EMDR link
