The EMDR Clinic
How Does EMDR Therapy work?
Unlocking Negative Memories and Processing Traumatic Experiences
How EMDR Therapy Works
When disturbing experiences happen, they are stored in the brain with all the sights, sounds, thoughts and feelings that accompany them. When a person is very upset, the brain seems to be unable to process the experience as it would normally. Therefore, the negative thoughts and feelings of the traumatic event get “trapped” in the nervous system. Since the brain cannot process these emotions, the experience and/or their accompanying feelings, are often suppressed from consciousness. However, the distress lives on in the nervous system where it causes disturbances in the normal emotional functioning of the person. This is the reason why some people report experiencing anxiety attacks which come on at random for no apparent reason!
EMDR does two very important things. First, it “unlocks” the negative memories and emotions stored in the nervous system, and second, it helps the brain successfully process the experience.
Revisiting, Reprocessing and Releasing Trauma
The EMDR Therapy Process
The therapist first finds out the issues that the client wishes to address and identifies (through discussion) the traumatic memories are related to those issues. After the memories are ascertained, a target memory is then mutually selected for processing.
The client is instructed to recall the target memory and notice the feelings (emotions and body sensations) that arise. Following this, the client is directed to engage in bilateral stimulation (e.g. eye movements, rhythmic tapping) while holding awareness on the feelings associated with the target memory.
As the client performs the bilateral stimulation movements, it typically results in a gradual reduction in the intensity of the unpleasant feelings that they experience. Along the way, their mind may generate new associations, insights, or emotions/sensations related to the memory.
The bilateral stimulation is repeated until there are no unpleasant feelings reported by the client. The process of going through a memory with EMDR therapy can take anywhere between one to several sessions per memory.
When the memory is revisited upon completion, it should no longer bring up any emotional distress. Also, there is usually an accompanying positive shift in the client’s perspective of, and the meaning given to the memory.