EMDR
EMDR Therapy - What is it?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy is a therapeutic modality that aims to lower emotional charge and stress in the nervous system around disturbing, complex or scary experiences. When an experience overwhelms the nervous system, the memory of that experience can sometimes stay ‘stuck’ in the body. A client may exhibit symptoms of this stuck experience through nightmares, emotionally charged reactions, or avoidant behaviors.
EMDR combines elements of several well established orientations (psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioral, client-centered, exposure) together with “bilateral stimulation” or eye movements, to lower the distress associated with the experience. During sets of bilateral movements (eye movements or self tapping on the knees or shoulders) the client feels the distress attached to the memory and moves through the big emotions, until these emotions are no longer attached to the experience. As a result we can then replace these negative emotions with more positive truths that hold feelings of safety, calmness or confidence in self.
What will I experience?
With both adults and children EMDR should always first begin with positive resourcing. The client should feel safe and within their window of tolerance. Before working on anything distressing, it is important to first make sure that the client can tolerate good, positive emotions. First establishing and widening a window for tolerating positive emotion makes the experience of EMDR feel safe and empowering. From here, as the client feels ready, they will choose what distressing memory or trigger they’d like to work on. The client should always feel in control and empowered during this process - especially when the distressing trigger might be associated with feeling or being out of control. Some clients may process a target in one session, while others may take 4-6 sessions on a target. As the client moves through a target distress levels go down and positive truths are experienced - such as “I’m okay now” or “I’m a good friend”. With every negative belief that is rooted out, a positive belief is instilled into the body and mind.