EMDR Therapy

Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing

What’s EMDR?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing. EMDR is a type of psychotherapy that helps reprocess upsetting memories. A therapist will guide you through the eight phases of EMDR which includes history taking, preparation, desensitizing traumatic memories, installing positive beliefs, using relaxation skills, and closing the session.

Who Can Benefit from EMDR?

  • Fears & Phobias

  • Sexual Trauma & Abuse

  • Panic Attacks

  • Trauma during childhood

People who struggle with:

  • PTSD

  • Anxiety

  • Depression

  • Low Self-Esteem

How does EMDR Work?

EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (BLS) to reprocess negative memories. When trauma happens, the negative memory can feel stuck in a part of our brain where we constantly relive the memory. By using BLS in EMDR, it takes the memory from the part of the brain where it is currently stuck to a different part of your brain where it can recognize the memory is past even. This helps you feel more at peace in your present moment and not feel stuck in the past.

Bilateral Stimulation

Bilateral Stimulation

Three Types of Bilateral Stimulation

  1. Tactile stimulation using “Tappers” which is the device shown in the picture. You hold the two green handheld tactile devices, one in each hand, and they provide an alternating vibration. The stimulation can be increased or decreased in intensity and length of time by the therapist. The therapist uses the box to control the stimulation.

  2. Auditory stimulation uses alternating sound in your ears through head phones. It sounds similarly to a hearing test at the doctor’s office

  3. Visual stimulation is a light bar where a ball of light travels horizontally back and forth while you follow it with your eyes.

The EMDR Process in Eight Steps

Phase 1

We talk about the EMDR process in detail so you have an understanding of this type of therapy. You will write a timeline of distressing events that occurred in your life. This will act as a map for picking which memories are important to target. We will review your timeline together and discuss what negative messages you learned from these events.

Phase 2

This phase is about learning new relaxation skills and ways to cope. A common skill I use with my clients is called “safe place.” We use BLS in this stage to solidify your connection with this place. The skills we use in phase 2 can be used if you want to stop in the middle of an EMDR session or if we can’t fully process a memory by the end of the session. It helps close everything up so you can still go about your day.

Phase 3

During phase 3, we pick an upsetting memory you want to target, the negative message, and a positive message. We talk about what emotions are coming up for you, where you feel the emotions in your body, and rate the level of distress. We also gage how true to positive message feels with the negative memory.

Phase 4

This is where the processing actually happens with the BLS. The therapist will ask you to bring up the distressing memory in your mind with the negative thought you have with it and start the BLS. After a minute or so, the therapist will stop the BLS and ask what you are noticing and then continue the BLS after you answer. The therapist’s role is just a guide. You are the main one doing the healing through allowing yourself to move the memories that come up. The therapist is there if you feel stuck or offer guidance. There is a lot of silence during this phase and it will usually last the entire session.

Phase 5

When the therapist notices the client shift into a positive belief, that is when we start phase 5. The therapist will ask you to bring up the original upsetting memory and now pair it with the positive belief we discussed in phase 3. We will use the BLS to install the new positive belief associated with the negative memory.

Phase 6

We check in with your distress levels and any distressing body sensations. If we weren’t able to fully process a memory, we may use your safe place from phase 2 in this step. If you have low distress levels, the therapist will guide you through a body scan. A body scan, helps you identify where emotions are stored in your body. If you notice tension in your body, the therapist will ask you to notice the tension while using BLS. Typically, tension will decrease as you notice it. This phase is important for closing up the session.

Phase 7

Once you feel more settled, we will talk about how to take care of yourself for the rest of the week. The therapist will remind you of your coping skills and to reach out to the therapist if you need anything before your next session. Also, we will tell you that it is common for people to experience weird dreams or nightmares after EMDR.

Phase 8

The next session is when phase 8 happens. During your next session, the therapist will ask you if you made any connections from what we processed last session. Typically, clients notice a better understanding about themselves or even more positivity in their life. We then continue discussing how we want to use EMDR in future sessions and loop back to phase 3. We continue looping from phase three to eight until your treatment goals are met.

FAQs

    1. People who have a history of seizures due to the possibility of the BLS triggering one.

    2. Women who are currently pregnant and have a history of miscarriages due the distress levels in EMDR.

    3. EMDR will also not directly treat Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, etc.

    If EMDR isn’t right for you, we can still work together using other therapeutic modalities.

  • No, hypnosis and EMDR are very different. While they both target deep beliefs, EMDR is a highly researched modality that only therapists can use. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation to reprocess memories. You remain completely awake and in control of your experience. You are consciously aware of your thoughts, emotions, and surroundings in EMDR. On the other hand, hypnosis involves a trance stated where your awareness is altered. Hypnosis can be suggested for changing habits, but not reprocessing traumatic events.

  • EMDR will not make you forget about the memory. While many people want to forget about things that happened to them, it helps you have a different relationship with the memory. In trauma therapy, we want you to be able to live with your experiences but not have them be intensely impacting you. EMDR will help with feeling like the memory is in past rather than something you constantly experience or get triggered by.

  • When you complete your timeline of upsetting memories, we may go over distressing events in your life. However, you do not have to go in detail about your trauma. During EMDR when we are reprocessing traumatic memories, there is little to no talking. EMDR is a modality where talking about your trauma doesn’t actually process it. The processing happens with the bilateral stimulation and allowing yourself to notice the memories.

  • EMDR mimics REM sleep, which is why you experience intense dreams sometimes afterwards. When we sleep, REM helps us process through everything that happened during the day. When a very upsetting or traumatic event happens, REM isn’t able to process everything and will stick in a part of our brain that makes it difficult to overcome.

Let’s heal from past trauma, so the memories can feel like a chapter in your book instead of your entire story. You are so much more than what you been through.

— Sarra Lashhab

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