Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy was developed by Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s when she noticed that back and forth eye movements helped her cope with difficult memories. During EMDR, we use bilateral stimulation to trigger the two hemispheres of the brain. Stimulation may include eye movements of varying speeds, physical stimulation through the use of hand buzzers, or aural stimulation through headphones. The bilateral stimulation may be used for building positive coping skills, reprocessing triggering memories or instilling confidence in how you will approach future events.
Please select from the different sections below to learn more about how we use EMDR to help you.
Let’s think about the brain like a computer for a moment. During REM sleep, it is believed that your brain works to process all of the day’s memories and file them away into their appropriate folders. But sometimes, when you’ve been through upsetting situations, memories aren’t processed correctly. They become frozen, retaining the strong emotions that occurred during the original event. Much like corrupted computer files can trigger chaos on your laptop, frozen memories can trigger chaos in your life. When the frozen memory is triggered by situations that feel like the memory, you may experience outbursts of anger or violence, flashbacks, or irrational reactions in the present, when you are really reacting to the past. EMDR is believed to mimic the REM sleep procedure of memory processing and storing. But because you are conscious, we can direct the brain to frozen memories that need reprocessing. And because you are fully awake, you experience the thoughts and emotions that come with the reprocessing work, just as you do when you’re dreaming. The bilateral stimulation we use helps keep you grounded and feeling safe in the present as you work through your past.
Since Shapiro’s discovery, there have been numerous psychological studies that have proven the effectiveness of this deceptively simple treatment. The number of positive outcomes in research studies has resulted in EMDR being recognized by the American Psychiatric Association, the World Health Organization and the Department of Defense as an effective treatment for trauma and PTSD. Studies have shown that between 84 to 90 percent of single-trauma victims no longer meet criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after only three treatment sessions. A study funded by Kaiser Permanente found that 100 percent of single-trauma and 77 percent of multiple trauma victims no longer met criteria for PTSD after 6 sessions of EMDR. And yet another study showed that 77 percent of combat veterans were free of PTSD in 12 sessions. We’ve included a link that lists source information for more than 30 EMDR research studies in the references section, if you’d like to read more.
We’ve all had moments where we doubt ourselves and our abilities. Maybe there are times that you’ve felt like you’re not good enough, that you don’t deserve to be happy, or that you are a worthless person. Those thoughts happen to all of us occasionally, but when they become core beliefs you have about yourself, it may be a cue that it’s time to seek help. EMDR is great for issues such as low self-esteem, depression, anger and anxiety. We will challenge your negative core beliefs, ask you to identify a preferred positive belief, and engage you in a completely individualized process in order to eliminate emotional suffering. If traditional talk therapy hasn’t resolved your emotional struggles, EMDR may be a helpful addition to your therapeutic journey.
If we think you may be a great candidate for EMDR, we will first talk to you and gain your informed consent. Once we’ve thoroughly explained the process and gained consent, we engage our clients in an EMDR-specific history taking process. We will ask you to identify different negative emotions and the negative core belief you hold that goes with them. You will then be asked to identify any memories that come to mind that are linked with those negative beliefs. We call this “mapping the memory network.” A memory could be as simple as being teased as a child, and as complex as family abuse. Once we’ve mapped the memory network, we will ask you what you’d prefer to replace that negative belief with, and how you’d rather feel emotionally. Then, the process really starts. We will ask you to pick a memory from the memory network that you are comfortable working on, something that still bothers you. In our office, we use gentle hand buzzers or headphones to create bilateral stimulation. We will work with you to determine which is most comfortable and effective for you. During the bilateral stimulation, we ask you to start with the disturbing memory, and then let your mind go. Often, your mind will take you on a journey you don’t expect. You may see flashes of other memories, see colors, feel different emotions, and you will ultimately go through your very own unique, individual process to eliminate the upsetting portions of the memory, and achieve healing. No two brains are alike and no two EMDR reprocessing sessions are the same. Once we’ve determined that the original memory is no longer troubling, we ask you how true your desired positive belief feels; our clients often find their positive belief to feel much stronger after reprocessing. We then use bilateral stimulation again to strengthen the positive thoughts and feelings you desire. And finally, when your positive belief feels clear and true to you, we finish with a body scan, to see if there is any other emotional residue left – body tension, muscle aches, things of that nature. Eventually, once we have cleared all of the triggering memories, we address the future. We will help you instill positive coping through future rehearsal combined with bilateral stimulation to achieve the best possible outcomes, long term. It is our hope that once you’ve completed the EMDR process, you will be able to live your life free of your past trauma. *Please note: the explanation given here often occurs over several hour-long sessions. The process can take time, especially if you have suffered multiple traumas.