EMDR

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

What is EMDR?

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a therapy designed to help people relieve their emotional distress from traumatic life events. The basic principle of EMDR is that our brains have the capacity to heal themselves when given the opportunity to do so. Most people who are familiar with EMDR know that it involves bilateral stimulation, which means activating both sides of the brain through simple, gentle movements or other stimulus. Moving your eyes back and forth with the guide of a lightbar, holding a vibrating buzzer in both hands, or hearing tones in alternating ears activates both brain hemispheres and allows you to maintain a dual awareness of the present moment and to consider a painful memory simultaneously. This allows you to process your trauma in a way that encourages all the healthy and adaptive information to link up with the traumatic memory, allowing your brain the chance to use its healing properties for you to feel better about yourself and safer in your world.

What does this look like in practice?

Before we begin talking about your trauma, I will help you create resources that offer a sense of safety and peace. You will learn skills that help you remain grounded in the moment, help you regulate the big emotions you feel when talking about your trauma, and we will ensure you have a strong support system to lean on and a quality self-care routine. These resources provide the foundation that your work will stand upon.

Then we work on history. We will get to know what life events need to be reprocessed and identify the order in which we will tackle each target. There is no one path that works for everyone, so getting to know what triggers you experience and what skills you need for your future helps us navigate the terrain.

Processing includes several of the phases. You will identify the image for the memory we will work on that day, the negative belief you have about yourself, what you would like to believe, and any emotions and physical sensations. We then use the bilateral stimulation to help you move through your processing until you no longer feel distress and you fully believe your positive belief.

We then close out of the processing with the understanding that new material might arise for you in the form of thoughts, dreams, flashbacks, or emotional experiences. You will be encouraged to keep a log of this material so we can add them to your target list.

Your sessions following processing sessions begin with a check-in on your triggers and any new material that may have surfaced between sessions. We will make sure to process all the past material, current stressors, and future events that will require a different response or set of skills.