What is EMDR Therapy?

What is EMDR Therapy?

If you have heard of EMDR and are curious about whether EMDR therapy might be the right fit for you, this post is for you.

Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing or EMDR therapy was developed by Dr. Shapiro in the late ‘80’s as a treatment option for PTSD that has gained attention for being an evidence-based therapy that treats a wide variety of concerns (anxiety, depression, PTSD, C-PTSD, stress, and more). 

EMDR therapy in the media looks like watching a light go left-to-right and experiencing rapid resolution for even the most challenging mental health symptoms and traumatic experiences. In practice, the eye-movements are only one piece of a bigger picture.

EMDR is an 8 phase therapy that includes history taking and treatment planning, preparation and resourcing, assessment, desensitization, installation, body scan, and closure. In simple terms, EMDR therapy is really made up of two parts: preparation for reprocessing and reprocessing. 

So where do the eye-movements come in? Sometimes never! The eye-movements in EMDR are one method of using bilateral stimulation in the desensitization, installation and body scan parts of the therapy. Bilateral stimulation (BLS) simply means providing left-right sensory input. Eye-movement BLS was the first studied method but there are many options, including auditory BLS (left-to-right audio tones through headphones) and tactile BLS (left-to-right stimulation via “buzzers” that are held in each hand or even left-to-right tapping on your own body). 

Sometimes Eye-Movements are not even recommended, for example, for those who experience headaches/migraines and/or eye-strain. At the end of the day, you can choose what works best for you. It may take time to find the right BLS for you. You may try out a few different types or even speeds of BLS before finding what works. If you are wondering whether or not the BLS is working for you, bring that up with your therapist in session.  

Despite EMDR being a structured therapy, the process looks a little different for everyone! 

For those who are experiencing symptoms of trauma related to one really distressing incident (for example, a car accident that has resulted in fear of driving, flashbacks of the accident, sleep difficulties, mood changes that did not exist prior to the accident), EMDR therapy may move very quickly. This person may go from meeting their therapist, discussing which parts of the experience are causing distress, and using BLS to target “stuck” memories until thinking about the accident no longer causes undo distress and the client can drive their car again without severe anxiety. 

For someone who has experienced trauma and/or neglect for many years, sometimes from childhood onwards, the same therapy might look very different. It may take time to develop a safe and trusting relationship with this person’s therapist. Some clients meet with their therapist for many months before feeling ready to add reprocessing and that is totally okay! Oftentimes, moving slowly within the context of a safe therapeutic relationship actually results in better outcomes for clients. 

EMDR can also be used flexibly. You may engage in several reprocessing sessions with BLS to target a memory and then take a break from reprocessing to engage in more traditional talk therapy. You can discuss this with your therapist and choose what feels right for you. 

The important part is that you feel safe to work toward your therapeutic goals

at a pace that feels good for you.

If you want to talk more about how EMDR therapy could support you, contact me to set up a free consultation call or bring your questions to your next therapy session.