EMDR

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. Sometimes, people get thrown off by the “eye movement” part of the title when they first hear of EMDR. However, it is a bit of a misnomer, because EMDR does not necessarily involve eye movements. The first two words in the title actually refers to any kind of Bilateral Stimulation, a few modes of which I’ll list below.

In the early 90s, researchers discovered that Bilateral Stimulation naturally reduces the vividness and emotionality associated with traumatic memories. Bilateral Stimulation refers to stimulus that is activating both the left and right sides of the brain, in an alternating fashion. This may look like eye movements (such as in REM sleep), alternating sounds, or alternating physical sensations, such as from tapping or buzzers. 

There are a few key differences that a client will notice during their EMDR treatment:

• EMDR therapy involves significantly less talking than in standard cognitive therapy. A client will not be asked to describe or recount the details of any memories or traumatic events. Much of the client’s processing and healing will happen internally and privately. The client of course may share in the future if they desire to, but it is not a necessary part of the healing process. 
• EMDR theory believes that the brain has it’s own capacity to heal naturally. EMDR activates and accelerates this process. For this reason, the therapist and client will not necessarily discuss how to change.

Please check out more information at the EMDR International website at this link: https://www.emdria.org/about-emdr-therapy/.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions that you may have! You can email me directly at [email protected], or you can use the contact form on this webpage.