What is EMDR?

EMDR therapy is all about helping you process those painful past traumas that have been camping out in the emotional centers of your mind. You know the ones, those memories that pop up at the most inconvenient times, like when you're having a romantic night with your partner or trying that new restaurant everyone’s been raving about. These aren’t any old memories, their the ones that trigger emotional and even physical reactions even if they happened years ago.

Why does this happen with some memories but not others? Well, imagine your brain is like a filing cabinet, with each life event neatly stored away. Sometimes, traumatic experiences get stuck in the wrong drawer, causing similar distress to when they happened whenever they are triggered. EMDR therapy helps your brain reorganize these memories, putting them into the correct cabinet, and taking away their ability to hijack your emotions.

As magical as it may sound, EMDR has some serious science behind it , centering on the theory of memory reprocessing and the brain's innate capacity for healing. There are 3 ‘prongs’ and 8 ‘phases’ to EMDR. Much like traditional talk therapy, you will begin with history taking and assessment, along with some psychoeducation about the whole process. You will build skills to help you regulate your nervous system and feel more in control of your triggers. Once you have laid the groundwork, you will dive into the heart of the EMDR process - reprocessing with bilateral stimulation.

Using bilateral stimulation – such as eye movements, tapping, or sounds, helps to "unblock" the brain's natural information processing system, allowing the traumatic memory to be integrated with other long term memories. Through this process, your therapist will guide you in reducing the disturbance associated with the trauma until it dissipates completely. Once the memory is completely reprocessed you will focus on strengthening new, positive thoughts and feelings through continued bilateral stimulation until they are fully integrated into your mindset.

In the end, you will remember the trauma but it will no longer be accompanied by an emotional charge or ability to impact your daily functioning.