What is EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing Therapy
A psychological treatment that was developed by Francine Shapiro in 1987.
Originally it was utilised to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) however it has also been found to be effective with a range of other mental health issues.
EMDR therapy targets disturbances that a person has not been able to progress themself, disturbances which are generally stored as memories and relived as triggers.
In breaking down the name of the treatment, the first significant aspect is eye movement.
EMDR utilises bilateral sensory information to process memories and disturbances. The bilateral stimulation is often visual, but can also be tactile or auditory.
Bilateral eye movement is suggested to replicate rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, during which the mind has been shown to heal itself, like a natural coping mechanism.
Desensitisation refers to the process of reduction in an emotional disturbance which occurs when the client focuses repeatedly on the disturbing event and Reprocessing highlights the change that occurs within the brain when exposed repeatedly to that disturbing memory.
Traumatic events can be classified as big T’s and little t’s. EMDR therapy is used to process both types of trauma. Big T’s are traumatic events that are typically related to PTSD eg exposure to war, car accidents, acts of violence, being a victim of abuse, etc.
Little t’s are traumas that are typically seen as disturbing but not necessarily considered to be traumatic events eg relationship breakdown, workplace bullying, grief and loss, exposure to long-term stress, etc.
EMDR Therapy
EMDR therapy targets unprocessed memories with ongoing disturbances, that continue to be triggered into the present. When a person experiences an out-of-the-ordinary event, the ability to process this themselves becomes compromised. Often such a significant event can be experienced overwhelmed and those parts of the person that are impacted, become stuck in trauma time, thereby becoming stuck or frozen in your brain. These then become triggered when exposed to things that remind you of the original and subsequent similar experiences. The human limbic system is the emotional centre of the brain, this is where emotional and physical responses will become stuck. EMDR facilitates the processing of those parts that are stuck which is necessary to promote healthier emotions, thoughts, beliefs, somatic and sensory experiences.
The Process
Initially, your therapist will undertake an assessment, including your history of exposure to disturbing events and how they continue to impact you into the present. Together, you will identify some key target memories which will be processed using bilateral stimulation.
The therapist will process the memory using bilateral stimulation, and you will be asked to simultaneously focus on thoughts, emotions, beliefs or somatic symptoms until they all reduce in severity.
At the end of processing, the memory will have less associated disturbance and distress. Symptoms reduce with further processing until the disturbance is no longer present.
Trauma is stored in the body in 5 ways:
Sensory information (visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile)
Associated thoughts
Associated beliefs about the self (I am … )
Physically
Emotionally
Most research supports the use of EMDR on phobias, anxiety, panic attacks, chronic pain, addictions, nightmares, overeating, social anxiety, complicated grief, stress, depression, self-esteem and recent traumatic events.
The World Health Organization (WHO, 2013) guidelines for the management of stress related conditions, stipulates that EMDR and CBT trauma focused therapy are the recommended treatment of choice for PTSD.
Other organisations such as the Australian Psychological Society, Phoenix (The Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health, American Psychological Association, Isreal National Council for mental health, National Health and Medical Research Council and International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies all endorse EMDR therapy.
Try these resources for more information about EMDR:
Introduction to EMDR Therapy
How EMDR works
Brief demonstration of an EMDR session
Demonstration of a full EMDR session
