EDMR
Maybe you have heard these letters while listening to a pod cast or skimming through the daily news, yet what the heck is EMDR?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing, I know, it’s a mouthful. In short, EMDR is a protocol utilized by trained professionals to treat individuals who have experienced various levels of trauma.
So how does it work? It is believed that EMDR works similar to the way our brain processes information when we are sleeping during the rapid eye movement (REM) period. During REM the brain reviews our day filing all of the experiences away as they have been perceived by the individual. Here’s the issue, when we experience trauma, which is defined as a deeply disturbing event, sometimes, due to the trauma, our brains mix up the filing system categorizing the event and linking it to thoughts, sounds, smells, sensations and an array of other environmental occurrences. Here is where EMDR can help. By targeting the memory, determining the disempowering belief attached to the memory, identifying the feelings/emotions attached to the memory, and noticing where it is felt in the individuals body the therapist engages the client in bi-lateral stimulation (fancy words for rhythmic movement that crosses the midline of the body).
This bi-lateral stimulation or BLS may be done with eye movement, sound, and/or tappers. EMDR relies on the client to free associate whatever comes up during each DAS (dual attention stimulation). One of the reasons many clients prefer EMDR therapy is there is not a lot of talking. In fact, while processing the client is merely reporting to the therapist what they are experiencing in the moment which is often a visualization (picture/movie), sounds, colors, smells, and/or sensations in their body.
