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EMDR Therapy 101

EMDR is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. This therapy is an interactive, psychotherapy approach that is used to relieve psychological stress, trauma, and post-traumatic stress disorder. EMDR therapy was developed by Francine Shapiro in 1988 and has been a popular and effective form of mental health treatment since then. The goal of EMDR is to relive traumatic or triggering experiences while your therapist directs your eye movements. Trauma can be very difficult to overcome and inhibit your ability to live your life the way you want. EMDR therapy allows the client to be in a safe and supportive environment while trying to overcome this.

The client will recall events while the therapist moves their finger back and forth to encourage rapid eye movement stimulation. This repetitive, rapid movement helps. Another method is the therapist will tap places on the client’s body in order to stimulate brain activity while they discuss their traumatic experiences. It is believed to be effective because it diverts the client’s attention and makes the traumatic experiences less intense emotionally. Eventually, a client will be able to lessen the impact that these memories and thoughts have on him or her.

Who Benefits from EMDR Therapy?

People suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are most likely to benefit from EMDR therapy. Although, it can be used to treat a variety of mental health conditions, including:

  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Addictions
  • Eating disorders
  • Panic attacks and panic disorder
  • Phobias
  • Self-esteem issues
  • People who struggle with talking about their traumatic experiences

The approach may be slightly different to treat a variety of illnesses, for example, a therapist may bring your awareness to feared thoughts or physical sensations that are linked to panic attacks to treat panic disorder. EMDR therapy can be independent or performed in tandem with medication or other psychotherapy techniques.

How Effective Is EDMR?

Many studies have shown that EMDR is a successful and effective form of treatment. The Department of Veterans Affairs’ strongly recommends this option to treat PTSD. Over 20,000 people have been trained to perform this method since it was developed.

A 2012 study of 22 participants found that EMDR was 77% effective in treating individuals suffering from PTSD and psychotic disorder. Symptoms of anxiety, depression, delusions, and hallucinations were greatly improved following treatment. It was also found that symptoms were not exacerbated during the course of the study.

Another small study found that EMDR was more effective in treating symptoms compared to standard prolong exposure therapy. The study was also met with a lower dropout rate. Several studies speak to this form of therapy’s ability to be effective in the short and long term, a huge step in mental health research.

EMDR is known as a safe therapy with no known negative side effects or impacts.However, its effectiveness is still debated. The most critical perspective of EMDR notes that these studies have only been performed on a small sample of participants.

How does it work?

EMDR is divided into eight phases. It is a relatively intense process, so the client must be ready to move from one phase to the next. Confronting your trauma is difficult, so you have to be committed to the process. A therapist will spend most of the early sessions gathering information on the client’s trauma before using bilateral stimulation and confronting the trauma. Typically, this course of treatment takes about 12 sessions to complete.

Bilateral stimulation is the term most associated with EMDR therapy. This is when your therapist helps the client track different stimuli with their eyes. The biggest example is a therapist moving their finger back and forth in order to stimulate different areas of the brain. Tapping is another technique. The therapist shows their client where to tap on his or her body to stimulate the brain.

Phase 1: History and Developing a Treatment Plan

This phase can take one or two sessions, depending upon the client and therapist. They discuss what causes them distress and experience flashbacks, and identify what coping strategies need to be implemented. This experience can be intense, going through trauma is not easy. Here is where you identify the problem.

Phase 2: Preparation

This is where your therapist helps you learn several coping strategies in order to help with this psychological and emotional stress you are experiencing. This phase can last anywhere from one to four sessions, depending on the severity of the client’s trauma. A therapist will prepare the client to engage with bilateral stimulation. Mindfulness and deep breathing may be techniques used here!

Phase 3: Assessment

Clients will select specific memories during the session. They will choose a statement or negative mantra that connects to their trauma. Examples could be “everything is my fault” or “I am unworthy”. Then, clients choose positive statements that replace or reframe the negative. Examples could be “I am doing the best I can” or “I do not always get it right, but I am worthy”. Clients are then asked to rate how much they believe the statement on a scale of 1-7 (one being the statement is false, seven being the statement is entirely true). They also rate their beliefs using subjective units of disturbance (SUD) on a scale of 0-10 (0 being it does not disturb you, 10 being it is the worst).

Now you are reprocessing. Your therapist helps you identify specific memories that are associated with physical sensations for each target memory.

Phases 4-6: Treatment (Desensitization, Installation, Body scan)

Now your therapist beings implementing EMDR therapy techniques to treat these targeted memories. Clients focus on their distressing emotions and how they feel while a therapist measures the SUD. The therapist helps use different eye movement or tapping techniques here.

During the installation phase, the client strengthens their positive beliefs by doing away with negative thoughts and replacing them with positive ones. The goal is to help the client get to a level of truth (7 on the 1-7 scale). EMDR does not completely erase the negative thoughts, but rather helps you reframe them.

After, the therapist focuses on how the traumatic event affects the body. The way trauma is embedded in the body can cause severe damage, so it is important to understand where the trauma lives and how to help alleviate it.

Phase 7: Closure

The client gets back to a state of grounding and bilateral stimulation is used. The session ends by taking the client out of the memory and helping them come back to a sense of closure.

Phase 8: Evaluation

In the last phase, you will be asked to evaluate the process and your therapist will do the same. Here you will see if your goals were met and how the trauma you were working through was impacted by the sessions.

How to Find an EDMR Therapist

EMDR therapy should only be performed by licensed professionals. If after reading this blog you find that this path of treatment is for you, make an appointment with a therapist! We have a variety of mental health professionals here on Mental Treat that use this method. Filter through professionals and select this course of treatment from our website. You will be able to find someone who fits your financial and emotional needs! We hope you found this informative and wish you the best of luck with your EMDR therapy journey.

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