What is EMDR therapy?

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a structured therapeutic approach that has been used to treat various mental health conditions, traumatic experiences, and distressing memories. The therapy involves several stages and follows a specific protocol. The general EMDR process is as follows:

Preparation: The therapist begins by conducting a comprehensive assessment of the client’s history, trauma, and current symptoms. They establish a therapeutic relationship and ensure the client has adequate coping skills to handle emotional distress. If necessary, the therapist may teach relaxation techniques or other strategies to help the client manage anxiety during the therapy sessions.

Assessment: The therapist and client identify a specific traumatic event or distressing memory that will be the target of the EMDR session. The client is asked to bring to mind an image related to the memory, the associated negative belief about oneself, and the emotions and physical sensations associated with the memory.

Desensitization: The client is asked to hold the traumatic memory in mind while simultaneously engaging in bilateral stimulation. Bilateral stimulation can be achieved through eye movements, where the client follows the therapist’s fingers moving back and forth horizontally, or through other methods such as auditory tones or tapping. The bilateral stimulation is believed to facilitate the processing of the traumatic memory by stimulating both hemispheres of the brain.

Reprocessing: As the client focuses on the traumatic memory and engages in bilateral stimulation, their thoughts and emotions are allowed to flow freely. The therapist does not direct the content of the client’s thoughts but rather encourages them to notice any spontaneous associations, thoughts, images, or insights that arise during the process. The goal is to promote the integration of new information and adaptive beliefs that can replace the negative beliefs associated with the traumatic memory.

Installation: Once the distress related to the targeted memory decreases significantly, the therapist helps the client install positive beliefs or self-statements that are more adaptive and accurate. These positive beliefs serve to counter the negative beliefs that were previously associated with the memory.

Body Scan: The therapist guides the client in checking their body for any residual tension or discomfort related to the memory. If any physical sensations are present, additional desensitization sets may be performed until the distress is fully resolved.

Closure: At the end of each session, the therapist ensures that the client is in a stable emotional state and provides appropriate grounding techniques or coping strategies to help them manage any residual distress that may arise outside of therapy.

Reevaluation: In subsequent sessions, the therapist reassesses the progress made and determines if there are any new targets that need to be addressed. The process of desensitization, reprocessing, and installation is repeated for each target until the client achieves a significant reduction in distress and the traumatic memories become less disruptive.

The specific techniques and approaches may vary depending on the therapist and the client’s needs. EMDR therapy typically requires multiple sessions to address different targets or traumatic memories comprehensively.