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EMDR Therapy: What Is It?
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EMDR Therapy
Emotional distress may be alleviated by the use of EMDR (eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing). Numerous national and international organisations have studied EMDR and found it to be successful, and this has led to widespread acceptance of it as a therapy option. EMDR may be a life-changing therapy option for those who are dealing with anxiety or trauma.
Get a better understanding of the advantages of EMDR treatment by reading this article.
EMDR Therapy What Is It
EMDR Therapy: What Is It?
Structured treatment sessions are used in conjunction with eye movements or other forms of stimuli like noises or taps in EMDR psychotherapy. In order to assist the brain access and processing the memories of traumatic and distressing situations, professionals adopt certain protocols and techniques during sessions with patients.
In spite of its origins as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), EDMR has been shown to be effective in treating a wide range of symptoms and disorders that bring patients into therapy. Anxiety and mood disorders, as well as drug abuse problems, are among them.
Advantages of EMDR
EMDR Therapy has several advantages over traditional therapy.
When compared to other forms of psychotherapy, EMDR treatment has a number of advantages:
- Typically, it takes less time for outcomes to emerge from fewer sessions.
- avoiding repeated contact with the upsetting recollection
- Has no need for a person to go into great detail regarding their past traumas.
- Involves no homework and does not challenge a person’s ideas or opinions.
How Is EMDR Applied?
As previously said, EMDR utilises the AIP paradigm. All persons are born with the ability to digest new information, make sense of it, and store it inside their memory according to this paradigm. But when a person experiences a traumatic or very upsetting event, this process is disrupted, resulting in the memory and the altered thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations being maladaptively (inappropriately) preserved. PTSD and other mental symptoms, such as anxiety, sadness, and flashbacks, are the result of insufficient processing of the event.
According to the AIP hypothesis, symptoms will go away after memories have been properly processed. Retrieving new associations and feelings from the brain’s memory storage system is one of the goals of EMDR therapy. This aids in the process of recovery by allowing the brain to process and respond to the past in a new way when confronted with similar situations in the future.
EMDR Therapy: The Different Stages
The eight phases of EMDR therapy include the following:
- The therapist conducts a thorough history and examination of the patient in this phase. Working together, they’ll figure out which old experiences need to be addressed in therapy, talk about present stressors, and develop a treatment strategy.
- Second, the client is prepared. The therapist goes through the treatment plan with them and helps them practise eye movements and other techniques.
- In Phase 3: Evaluation, the therapist acts as a facilitator to activate the memory that is being targeted in the session by facilitating an assessment. As part of this process, you’ll need to identify and evaluate all of the various components of the memory (such as an image, thoughts, emotions and physical sensations).
- Phase 4: Desensitization: The client concentrates on the memory while completing the eye movement exercise and reflects back to the therapist what new ideas have surfaced. During the following short session, the therapist will decide what the client should concentrate on. The fresh ideas that arise are usually the main emphasis. You continue this procedure over and over again until the original memory fades into obscurity.
- Installing the new ideas, emotions, and beliefs associated with the traumatic memories is the last step in the process.
- Clients are asked to notice their bodily reactions to the memory and their new views about it throughout this phase. Eye movement exercises are repeated if the client has a negative bodily reaction.
- The session comes to an end at this point. To ensure the client’s comfort, further protocols and processes are implemented if the memory was not completely processed during this session.
- During the following session, the therapist will assess the client’s development, talk about any new memories that have surfaced since the previous therapy, and work with the client to choose which memory should be the focus of their attention going forward (Phase 8).
Expectations for an EMDR Session
The therapist often leads the patient through the eight-step EMDR procedure during an appointment. This may help them uncover new ideas while they are focused on the memory and engaged in eye movement or other activities.
People may begin to feel less overwhelmed or upset when thinking about various components of the experience as the recollection is processed. As a result of the session, they may begin to recall additional sad or traumatic memories associated with the person being targeted. Healing of the brain and processing of memories are both evidence of this phenomenon.
As a result of this, the individual will have a greater sense of control over their memories and current circumstances. They should also be better prepared to deal with similar circumstances in the future.
EMDR’s Efficacy
Treatment for PTSD and other trauma and stress-related illnesses has long relied on EMDR. EMDR treatment has been the subject of more than 30 well-conducted research, some of which found that after three 90-minute sessions, 84%–94% of patients with a single event no longer had PTSD.
Many organisations have approved it as a successful treatment, including:
- Association of Psychiatrists in America
- Association of Psychologists
- Society for Traumatic Stress Studies International (ISTSS)
- Mental Health Advocacy Groups (NAMI)
- Administration for the Treatment of Addiction and Mental Illness (SAMHSA)
- Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense
- The Cochrane Library is a comprehensive repository of systematic reviews.
- Organization for Disease Control and Prevention (WHO)
How to Identify an EMDR Practitioner
EMDR treatment should only be administered by mental health professionals who have completed training and are licenced to practise. The EMDR International Association’s (EMDRIA) Find an EMDR Therapist directory might help you locate an EMDR therapist. If you aren’t looking for a therapist via the EMDRIA database, here are four things to keep in mind:
- How well-versed are they in EMDR and your particular ailment?
- The EMDR training that they received was approved by EMDRIA.
- EMDR procedures and advances are they aware of?
- How many patients have they seen with a condition like yours?
- How many people have they helped?
Conclusion
Numerous studies have shown the effectiveness of EMDR treatment in treating a wide range of mental health conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Unresolved and traumatic memories that have been improperly stored in the brain may be safely processed by competent doctors using a controlled approach.
The skilled healthcare professional facilitates a series of eye movement exercises while asking the client to think about various components of the memory throughout the EMDR session. New ideas and insights occur as a result of this process, and the client has less physical and emotional suffering as a result of the recollection. This cycle is continued until the client has a greater sense of agency and mastery over their present, past, and future.
Finding an EMDR therapist who is qualified and licenced is critical. Your therapist should be knowledgeable in both EMDR procedures and your unique issue or condition in order to provide the best possible treatment.
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