EMDR Therapy Guide
Curious about EMDR? Read below for more information on how EMDR may be able to help you and book a consultation with our counsellor.
VIDEO SOURCE: The EMDR International Association (EMDRIA) is a professional association where practitioners and researchers seek the highest standards for the clinical use of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. EMDRIA is organized to promote, foster, and preserve the highest standard of excellence and integrity in EMDR therapy and EMDR training for mental health professions, and for the community which shall be served by the mental health professions. For more information visit: emdria.org
GUIDE SUMMARY:
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is a therapy proven to help reduce symptoms related to: trauma and PTSD, anxiety, depression, and a wide range of emotional problems.
Have you ever gotten a splinter? Funny how such a small thing can cause so much pain. But with a pair of tweezers, the splinter can be removed, and your body can start it’s natural healing process. However… if you don’t get that splinter out, it can fester, turn into a wound and maybe even get infected.
EMDR therapy demonstrates that the mind can in fact heal from psychological trauma much in the same way as the body recovers from a physical trauma. If you are blocked by the impact of a disturbing event, emotional wounds can fester and cause suffering. However, once that block is removed, healing can resume. In EMDR therapy sessions, EMDR clinicians help their clients activate their mind’s natural healing processes through the use of exercises that promote a 'bilateral stimulation' of the brain. Repeated studies show that by using EMDR therapy people can experience the benefits of psychotherapy that once took years to make a difference.
EMDR therapy is used to address:
Anxiety, panic attacks, and phobias
Chronic illness and medical issues
Depression and bipolar disorders
Dissociative disorders
Eating disorders
Grief and loss
Pain
Performance anxiety
Personality disorders
PTSD and other trauma and stress-related issues
Sexual assault
Sleep disturbance
Substance abuse
Violence and abuse
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Interested in seeing whether EMDR therapy is right for you? Meet our EMDR therapists, or submit the following form to either book a session or ask any questions:
PART 1: THE HISTORY OF EMDR THERAPY
FRANCINE SHAPIRO, PH.D
Francine Shapiro discovered a connection between eye movement and persistent upsetting memories in the late 1980s. This discovery became a lifelong study that led to the development of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy.
Despite skepticism, Dr. Shapiro’s work developed from a hypothesis to a formal therapy process after hundreds of case studies were published demonstrating EMDR’s effectiveness in PTSD treatment.
By 1995, Dr. Shapiro encouraged the foundation of an independent professional association EMDRIA - The EMDR International Association. EMDRIA was established to safeguard the quality of EMDR training and practice and declares that it’s primary objective is “to establish, maintain and promote the highest standards of excellence and integrity in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) practice, research and education.”
EMDRIA, now has more than 11,000 mental health professionals who use EMDR therapy in their clinical practice, and EMDR is recognized around the world for it’s efficacy as a psychotherapy method.
WANT TO KNOW MORE? VISIT EMDR.COM / EMDRIA.ORG
PART 2: TRAUMA AND THE BRAIN
Our brains have a natural way to recover from trauma.
Sometimes traumatic experiences can be managed and resolved spontaneously. Other times, our fight, flight or freeze response prevents the experience from being processed without help.
A traumatic event could include:
Witnessing a death or injury
Combat
Experiencing a natural disaster
Sexual assault
Child abuse
Repeated exposure to highly stressful situations (bullying, stalking)
Violence
Left undiagnosed or untreated, trauma can create an overactive stress system that can lead to a host of health issues, including:
Stomach ailments
Lowered immunity
Widespread inflammation
Substance Use issues
Mental illness
How trauma impacts your brain
AMYGDALA ACTIVITY INCREASES
The amygdala acts as an alarm signal for stressful events and helps protect us from danger. Trauma can cause the amygdala to stay overactive, which can lead to feelings of anxiety or being in danger.
THE HIPPOCAMPUS SHRINKS
The hippocampus assists with learning and memory storage, including how to remember safety and danger. It helps calm the amygdala. Trauma can cause the hippocampus to shrink. Cues to calm the amygdala are weakened, which may cause flashbacks or confusion around the trauma memory.
THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX SHRINKS
The prefrontal cortex manages thoughts, behaviours, and helps us control our emotional response to events. Normally, this area helps us decide that a situation is okay. Trauma can weaken the signals from this area, allowing negative emotions from the trauma memory to take over the prefrontal cortex’s reasoning ability.
PART 3: HOW EMDR THERAPY AFFECTS THE BRAIN
EMDR therapy helps unblock your brain so you can naturally recover from trauma.
EMDR has a direct effect on the way your brain processes information, releasing emotional experiences that are trapped in your nervous system. In simple terms, EMDR helps ‘unblock’ the brain’s processing so that traumatic memories can become ‘ordinary’ memories.
BEFORE EMDR THERAPY
Sometimes, our perceptions of current situations are linked to an ‘original traumatic event.’ Memories from that event can be triggered through sights, sounds or smells. Once triggered, the stored distress of the original trauma memory are mistakenly experienced when the brain accesses the emotions, thoughts, beliefs and physical sensations that occurred at the time of the event. This can create an overwhelming feeling of being back in that moment, or being “frozen in time.” In this way, your brain gets stuck in permanent fight/flight mode.
AFTER EMDR THERAPY
EMDR helps your brain process these memories like a computer with a virus. Your brain is given an ‘update’ so your memory files are reordered, and your brain’s natural healing process is restored. The experience is still remembered, but the fight, flight, or freeze response from the original event has now been turned ‘off’. You can now objectively view this as an ‘ordinary memory’, eliminating the overwhelming feelings and thoughts that have prevented you from moving forward in a positive way.
PART 4: HOW EMDR THERAPY WORKS
EMDR therapy uses an alternating left-right stimulation of the brain.
An essential part of EMDR treatment is the use of 'bilateral stimulation' of the brain. This enables the left and right sides of the brain to better communicate with each other.
A trained EMDR therapist works with you to recall and process the components of your distressing thoughts, feelings or memories. To resolve these feelings, your EMDR therapist will guide you to briefly focus on the trauma memory while you perform rhythmic left-right movements - aka bilateral stimulation.
Bilateral stimulation can be achieved by using a variety of methods including eye movements — which gave this therapy its name — where you are asked to look at either the therapist’s finger or at a light on a light bar, and follow it back and forth with your eyes like a ping pong game . Alternatively, hand taps, hand-held buzzers, or headphones with left-right sounds can be used as well. After a few seconds, your eye movements or other right-left stimulation are stopped and you will be asked to tell your therapist what you noticed.
This bilateral stimulation facilitates accessing traumatic memories by stimulating certain parts of your brain. The eye movements reduce the vividness and emotion associated with your trauma memory by interrupting focus on the traumatic event and your original responses. Bilateral stimulation also draws attention to your current environment which reinforces that there is no current threat, helping your brain to integrate this new information so negative responses can be avoided in the future.
PART 5: HOW EMDR COMPARES TO OTHER TYPES OF THERAPY
Repeated studies show that by using EMDR - Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy, people can rapidly experience the benefits of psychotherapy that once took years to make a difference.
EMDR therapy helps children and adults of all ages. EMDR is a safe and effective and there is no more risk with EMDR than there is with any other therapeutic intervention where dealing with past hurts and trauma is uncomfortable. While some distress or discomfort may occur during the process, your therapist will use safety measures such as relaxation or a “safe place” to help minimize the risk of a distressing or unpleasant experience.
There has been so much research on EMDR in fact, that it is now recognized as an effective form of treatment for trauma and PTSD by organizations such as the American Psychiatric Association, the World Health Organization and the Department of Defense. Given the worldwide recognition as an effective treatment of trauma, EMDR is also effective in treating low self-esteem, feelings of powerlessness, and more.
EMDR BENEFITS
Works in situations where other psychotherapies have not;
Non-toxic, non-invasive and requires no medication;
Not as time consuming as other psychotherapies as EMDR therapy can be completed in fewer sessions which is typically delivered weekly for 6 to 12 sessions;
Does not require talking in detail about the distressing issue or completing homework between sessions;
Unlike other treatments that focus on directly altering the emotions, thoughts and responses resulting from traumatic experiences, EMDR therapy focuses directly on the memory;
Allows the brain to resume its natural healing process by changing the way that the memory is stored, reducing and eliminating the problematic symptoms.
EMDR STATS
67%
of clients treated with EMDR for five sessions had no signs of PTSD following treatment.
75%
of adult trauma victims exhibited no symptoms of PTSD after eight sessions.
WANT TO KNOW MORE? RECENT RESEARCH ABOUT EMDR
PART 6: WHAT TO EXPECT DURING EMDR THERAPY
Most EMDR Therapy sessions will last 60 to 90 minutes in duration. You might need to participate in scheduled appointments for several weeks before you begin to experience the complete benefits.
EMDR is a structured process that consists of 8 distinct phases:
1.History and Treatment Planning
This is the phase where the path to self-discovery begins. You and your EMDR therapist will discuss your medical history and work together to pinpoint any relevant traumatic events to be targeted. While going through the information gathering process, you also get a chance to connect with your therapist and learn a bit about the actual EMDR process. There may be a chance that you will have several traumatic events of concern. Your therapist will ask you to rate these events to make sure therapy is targeting the most relevant issues. At the end of this phase, the goals for your treatment will be set.
2.Preparation
Going through the EMDR process requires commitment and readiness. During this phase, you and your therapist will discuss and agree upon plans for your treatment process. Your therapist will also work with you to make sure you have the necessary coping skills to continue on through the EMDR process until the end. Some of the techniques your therapist will teach you include grounding skills, stress reduction skills, and state change skills. At the end of this phase, you should have a general idea about what you are about to experience.
3.Assessment
This is the phase where the actual trauma or negative event will come to the forefront. Your therapist will ask you to start visualizing and experiencing the sensations related to the event. You will be asked to identify both a positive and negative statement or emotion to describe how you feel about the event. You will then be asked to rate these positive and negative statements or emotions to establish a baseline of your emotional response.
4.Desensitization
In this phase you will begin dealing with your memories. You will be instructed to focus on the negative memory while simultaneously engaging in back-and forth eye movement and other forms of bilateral stimulation. As you process all the memories and associated sensations, the memory disturbance process will begin to resolve issues, and you will begin to incrementally move closer to final trauma resolution. This activity will continue until you report having zero emotional response to the memory.
5.Installation
By the time you reach this stage, you have processed the trauma to some level of resolution. It should leave you feeling somewhat empowered and more in control of your feelings and emotions. Your thought processes should be shifting now, as your negative recollections are replaced with positive recollections. This positive recollection is strengthened and is “installed”.
6. Body Scan
After a specific amount of progress, you will be asked to recall the traumatic memory again for reevaluation. This reevaluation process is called a body scan. After bringing back the negative event or trauma, your therapist will look to confirm that you no longer feel negative emotional or body stress related to the event or trauma. If the memory still causes a negative response, the process will have to be repeated.
7. Closure
What happens during the closure phase will depend on where every individual session ends. This steps effectively ends the EMDR session and may differ depending on whether or not your target memory was processed successfully. If you have completed the EMDR process by successfully resolving the negativity, your therapist will be able to end your sessions. If the negativity has not been fully resolved, you will end the session with self-calming exercises. This is intended to leave you feeling somewhat in control until you return to continue working to a final resolution.
8. Re-evaluation
This is the time where your therapist will evaluate the effectiveness of your last treatment session to see where you sit. They will reevaluate disturbance levels to see if the positive feelings remain in control. If the previous EMDR therapy session was incomplete, the next session will pick up at stage 4. The cycle is sustained until you achieve success.
PART 7: STARTING EMDR THERAPY
We know it takes a great amount of courage to examine your life and to decide that there are things you would like to change. And, it takes more courage to do something about it. We can help. We offer free consultations for anyone in Ontario considering EMDR therapy at The Dot. We will go through any of your questions and concerns to help you decide whether EMDR therapy is the right choice for you.
