EMDR Therapy

What is EMDR?

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a leading evidence-based therapeutic approach for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is designed to reduce residual distress from traumatic experiences (including anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem).

At its core, EMDR operates on the premise that traumatic memories can become "stuck" in the brain, leading to ongoing distress and difficulty. EMDR aims to facilitate the processing and resolution of these memories, allowing you to better integrate the memories into your life narrative and reduce the emotional charge associated with them.

How Does It Work?

During an EMDR session, you will be guided through a series of bilateral stimulation exercises, which typically involve moving your eyes back and forth horizontally. As you move your eyes, you will simultaneously maintain awareness of the trauma’s emotional charge. These bilateral stimulations facilitate the brain's natural processing mechanisms (similar to those that occur during REM sleep), enabling the reprocessing of traumatic memories. As you engage in this process, you will likely experience shifts in your thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations, gradually diminishing the intensity of the traumatic imprint.

In EMDR therapy, we will work together to identify target memories or experiences that contribute to your distress. Once enough safety and sufficient inner resources have been established, we will access the target memory, identify the beliefs and sensations linked to the memory, and then process the traumatic and stuck emotional content with bilateral stimulation until the the charge of the memory has decreased. Finally, you will be led through a process to internalize new beliefs that are more adaptive and empowering.

EMDR does not erase the memory of past trauma, but it eases the emotional distress associated from it so you have a chance to live your life moving forward with greater freedom from the past.

Here’s a bit about the research supporting EMDR:

“More than 30 positive controlled outcome studies have been done on EMDR therapy. Some of the studies show that 84%-90% of single-trauma victims no longer have post-traumatic stress disorder after only three 90-minute sessions. Another study, funded by the HMO Kaiser Permanente, found that 100% of the single-trauma victims and 77% of multiple trauma victims no longer were diagnosed with PTSD after only six 50-minute sessions. In another study, 77% of combat veterans were free of PTSD in 12 sessions.” (Source)