How does EMDR help?

 

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is a mental health treatment technique that involves moving your eyes in a specific way while processing traumatic memories. The goal of EMDR is to help individuals heal from trauma or other distressing life experiences. Compared to other therapy methods, EMDR is relatively new, with the first clinical trial investigating its effectiveness taking place in 1989. Numerous clinical trials since then have shown that this technique is effective and can help individuals faster than many other methods.

EMDR therapy does not require individuals to talk in detail about a distressing issue. Instead, it focuses on changing the emotions, thoughts, or behaviors that result from a distressing experience (trauma). This allows the brain to resume its natural healing process. While many people use the terms "mind" and "brain" interchangeably, they are actually different. The brain is an organ of the body, while the mind is the collection of thoughts, memories, beliefs, and experiences that make up an individual's identity.

The way the mind functions depends on the structure of the brain, which involves networks of communicating brain cells across various areas, especially those related to memories and senses. These networks allow different areas to work together more efficiently, which is why senses can trigger strong memories. EMDR is based on the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, a theory developed by Francine Shapiro, PhD, who also created EMDR. This model recognizes that the brain stores normal and traumatic memories differently.

During normal events, memories are stored smoothly and connected to other memories, while during disturbing events, this networking may not occur correctly. Traumatic memories are often stored in a way that inhibits healthy healing, similar to a wound that the brain has not been able to heal properly.

New experiences can become linked to earlier trauma experiences, reinforcing negative patterns and disrupting the connections between senses and memories. This can lead to symptoms, emotions, and behaviors associated with trauma. Triggers related to trauma can cause overwhelming feelings of fear, anxiety, anger, or panic. For individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), flashbacks can occur due to improper storage and networking of memories, making it feel as though they are reliving a traumatic event. EMDR helps individuals reprocess traumatic memories in a specific way, using eye movements and guided instructions to repair the mental injury caused by the memory. This reprocessing can make remembering the event less distressing and the associated feelings more manageable.