EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a powerful therapeutic tool discovered and developed by Francine Shapiro, PhD. The process utilizes Rapid Eye Movements, such as those innate to the brain during REM sleep. These Eye Movements help to unlock the brain’s natural “information processing system” which Dr. Shapiro believes becomes overwhelmed when a person experiences trauma.
Bessel Van der Kolk is a leader in the treatment of trauma and a proponent of the use of EMDR. He states that traumatic memory is stored differently than normal, everyday events. Traumatic memory is stored in the limbic brain initially and may remain unprocessed or undigested for years, where the body’s fight or flight mechanisms perceive it to be happening in the present. This results in symptoms of PTSD such as flashbacks, nightmares, hypervigilance, erratic sleep, anxiety, panic attacks which are cued up when the person is exposed to sensory experiences reminiscent of the trauma(s).
Prior to engaging in any traumatic material, the therapist and clinician work together to develop and build internal coping resources to tolerate the hard work that trauma reprocessing entails. During EMDR therapy the client focuses on emotionally disturbing memories for brief periods of time while focusing on an external stimuli that prompts moving the eyes back and forth, tapping hands or feet back and forth, or feeling a slight vibration in the palms of the hands, while pausing frequently to reflect with the therapist. This process allows the brain to make a more adaptive appraisal of the traumatic memories and integrate the experience into the person’s current life and self.
EMDR facilitates a natural and rapid integration of the traumatic memory, and as a result, the person is able to perceive the event and its associated experiences as being “in the past.” The process also helps shift the cognitive distortions originally associated with the experience (“I’m not good enough,” “I am permanently damaged,” “I should have done something” etc) to a more adaptive belief (“I did the best I could,” “I now have choices”).
EMDR works to bring about a rapid change in thought processes and physiological states (calmer, more in the present, more relaxed and improved sleeping.) We have multiple therapists that use EMDR for the treatment of trauma.
