EMDR is a treatment modality that has grown in popularity over the past few decades due to its efficacy and as an alternative to traditional talk therapies. If you or a loved one is considering seeking out this form of treatment, you are sure to be full of questions. Below are answers to some commonly asked questions to get you started.
What does EMDR stand for?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
What challenges does EMDR address?
EMDR was originally founded to treat PTSD, but has since been found to be effective in treating a wide variety of conditions including anxiety, depression, phobias, panic attacks, dissociative disorders, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, substance abuse and addiction, and pain.
How does it work?
When we sleep, our brain uses REM (rapid eye movement) sleep to file away all of the memories that have happened to us throughout the day. Sometimes that filing gets interrupted, keeping the folder closer to the front of our mind, making us react to things around us as if we were reliving something from our past. EMDR uses rapid eye movements while we are conscious to file those memories away in their proper place.
What can I expect out of EMDR therapy?
During beginning stages of therapy, your clinician will work with on building up skills to help with grounding and stabilization for use if processing becomes too distressing. During processing, your clinician will use bilateral stimulation (eye movements, tapping, tones, etc.) while having you focus on a specific memory. After a set of bilateral stimulation, you will be asked to report what you notice and processing starts again. This will continue until your brain begins to adapt a more positive belief about the memory, no change is reported, or time has run out. If no change is being reported, your clinician may try other techniques that they have been trained in. If time has run out, the skills learned earlier will be used to calm down any distress the client may be feeling. At the next session, your clinician will re-evaluate the processing that occurred and either continue processing or determine next steps for treatment.
What are potential side effects?
Everyone processes differently, but clients may experience vivid dreams, emergence of distressing or unresolved memories, intense emotional or physical sensations, or fatigue following a processing session.
For more information, please check out the EMDRIA website. EMDRIA is the governing body for EMDR to ensure ethical and proper application.
