EMDR:
Leaving the Fear and Pain Behind
Leaving the Fear and Pain Behind
Memories can do many things for you. They enrich your life and inspire you to stay positive and they can also leave you feeling trapped, preventing you from living in the present. “Trauma is tricky,” says Good Therapy. After a traumatic experience you may find yourself developing intrusive symptoms that make it difficult for you to function as you once had. These symptoms may not appear immediately. They can disguise themselves in ways you don’t recognize, manifesting as fear, shame, low self-esteem, anger, etc. These negative feelings can lead to a decrease in functioning and even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
If your past efforts at overcoming symptoms have failed, don’t lose hope. You may benefit from assistance in reprocessing your memories. Therapy with an Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) trained professional can help.
What Is EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is described by the EMDR Institute as “a psychotherapy treatment that was originally designed to alleviate the distress associated with traumatic memories.” This breakthrough therapy developed by an American psychologist, Francine Shapiro, PhD, is based on Adaptive Information Processing.
This therapy combines several elements and involves a three-pronged protocol to deal with the past, present, and future. There are eight unique phases that you will go through. The first two preliminary phases involve the taking of history and preparation. The process of desensitization starts in the third phase and continues to the sixth. You will be asked to identify your “targets”— “a vivid visual image related to the memory, a negative belief about self, and the other related emotions and body sensations.”
As the name suggests, part of EMDR entails moving the eyes from left to right to achieve bilateral stimulation (engagement of both the right brain and the left brain). This has been found to be effective in diminishing the impact of traumatic memories. Experts say that the repeated eye movements can allow the brain to reprocess those memories, so that they are given the right environment to be processed and stored properly.
The seventh and eighth phase will address progress made and will address any barriers to further progress. During the final phase you can plan for additional or maintenance treatment to continue your growth and health.
How It Works
The goal of Adaptive Information Processing, the guiding principle of EMDR theory, is to bring the troubling memories and experiences to an adaptive resolution. This can be achieved by accessing those experiences and memories so they can be processed again. Once this has been successfully done, your brain’s natural ability to manage and process difficult experiences is restored. This helps to make healing and moving on possible.
Bitter and painful memories can unnecessarily disrupt your life. Reprocessing them can be a logical approach to resolving your concerns. While the exact mechanism is still not completely known, practitioners believe that EMDR can make important changes in a person’s neural circuitry or brain connections, akin to what happens during the REM phase in sleep.
This kind of processing can facilitate the understanding and integration of the traumatic memories into your life experiences. EMDR also allows you to revisit your past and acknowledge that it happened. This can be empowering, as it can allow you to feel more in control.
Transforming Your Life with EMDR
EMDR can help you move toward recovery. It can allow you to transform your life in ways you didn’t know were possible. This method is now widely practiced by many experts, and used to treat not only trauma, but also anxiety, depression, eating disorders, body dysmorphic disorders, addiction, and low self-esteem.
If traumatic memories or negative emotions are preventing you from moving forward, a therapist trained in EMDR can help. Carolina Counseling Services — Pittsboro, NC contracts with independent, licensed clinicians who are trained in EMDR.
It is time to move past your past. Call today to schedule your first appointment.