EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. To hear the story told, you’d think that Francine Shapiro, a psychologist, came upon EMDR by chance. And you’d be right. She was walking through the park, feeling bad about something that had happened at work, and moving her eyes from one side of the park to the other. Something magical happened. She began to feel better. So, being a curious sort, she thought of something else that she felt bad about and tried it again. Again, she felt better. This started her on the long path of discovery and research using eye movement to help heal trauma. First, she used it on herself, then her friends, and then her clients.
She developed EMDR further to use with Vietnam war veterans suffering from dangerous flash backs and inability to sleep. Again, that something magical happened: the war veterans started to recover. The flashbacks diminished. They slept through night. They played with their children. Their relationships improved. And they started to enjoy life again.
Is EMDR magic? Not really. Although, it might seem like it to people who have been struggling with old traumas for years and haven’t been able to get any peace. EMDR is based on the idea that our psychological well-being is intertwined with our physical state. In an EMDR session the emotions and body sensations will typically get stronger as the person focuses on the disturbing memory. And then the emotions and body sensations will get weaker.
A sense of calm will come over the person and they will be able to find a preferred belief that works for them, instead of against them. They will take this sense of calm and new belief out of the session and live a better life.
So, what is EMDR? EMDR is one of the most effective therapies to help people heal from trauma. That’s not just my opinion. Over the years, researchers have devoted much time and study to it. EMDR is a very deliberate process to lead a person through a disturbing memory or issue in a way that starts to de-escalate entrenched triggers, emotions, and body sensations. The therapist will ask a specific set of questions in a deliberate fashion. Through the questions, the client will identify the memories, beliefs, thoughts, emotions, and body sensations that negatively impact the client’s life.
Instead of asking the client to use a coping skill to manage the triggers, the therapist will ask the client to focus on whatever is happening. I often say, “you can’t do this wrong.” The therapist will then implement some type of bilateral brain stimulation while the client is focusing on the disturbance.
A bilateral brain stimulation might be having the client move their eyes back and forth across the midline of the body by following the therapist’s fingers. Or it could be using a set of theratappers that pulses in one hand and then the other. Or it could be asking the client to cross their hands over their chest and gently pat one shoulder and then the next.
The bilateral brain stimulation allows the person to focus on the trauma. While intervening with the bilateral brain stimulation, the traumatic memory changes, and shifts. The therapist will encourage the client to follow those changes and shifts.
And that is where the magic does happen: inside of the client. I like to call it learning from the inside out. Most people have incredible resilience and coping skills that they have learned through the years. Yet, traumatic experiences often block our access to that resilience and productive coping skills. When clients face those traumatic memories in a safe setting with a skilled practitioner, they remove the blocks. The client finds their lost wisdom as well as peace of mind. They can put the past to rest and move on with strength and courage.
The questions, in case you are curious 😊
What is the issue, event, or memory?
What picture represents the worst part of that memory?
What words best describe the negative belief about yourself when you think of that memory?
What would you rather believe instead?
What emotions does that negative belief bring up for you?
Where do you feel those emotions in your body?
How bad does it feel on a scale of 0-10, 0 being “nothing, it’s fine” and 10 being the worst thing you ever felt?
From the answers to the questions the client and therapist work together to acknowledge and de-escalate the triggers, shift the negative/destructive beliefs to something more life enhancing, and to calm the emotions, replacing the disturbance with a sense of calm.
So, while EMDR is not a magic wand used to fix people, it is an effective therapeutic tool that can help clients find the magic within themselves. And we could all use a little more of that.
Author:
Milana Marsenich LPC
As a therapist and a natural listener, I have had the great privilege of witnessing amazing generosity and courage in others.