Treating trauma with EMDR

A significant number of clients come to me because they have experienced some level of trauma growing up or in their adult life. A powerful technique called eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) has proven to be an often-effective way to resolve emotional problems resulting from trauma. This and the following pages will give you a general explanation of the method.

What constitutes trauma?
What is EMDR?
What is an EMDR therapy session like?
Does EMDR really work?
To learn more …

What constitutes trauma?
The words “trauma” and “abuse” suggest horrific events. However, research suggests that any situation in which we experience prolonged helplessness has the potential to create trauma. These may be events that occurred during childhood or adolescence or may be situations we face as an adult.

Signs and symptoms of trauma include depression, anxiety, addictive disorders and codependence. Trauma tends to be re-experienced and can negatively impact how you function years after the situation has resolved.

What is EMDR?
Behavioral scientists’ ability to study living brains has enabled us to understand more clearly how trauma affects us. Among the advances is increased understanding of how trauma is stored in memory and how that memory can influence us years after events have taken place. We do know that when a person is very upset, their brain cannot process information as it does ordinarily. Moments can be “frozen in time” and remembering a trauma may feel as bad as going through it the first time. This is because the images, sounds, smells and feelings that the brain recorded haven’t changed. Memories such as these interfere with the way a person sees the world and the way they relate to other people.

EMDR seems to have a direct effect on the way the brain processes information. EMDR helps to restore normal information processing so that a person no longer relives the images, sounds and feelings brought up when the event comes to mind. The individual still remembers what happened but the recollection is less upsetting.

EMDR may be used as a primary therapy or may be used in conjunction with other types of psychotherapy.

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