Beyond Talking: How Innovative EMDR Therapy Can Heal Your Trauma
If you’ve searched for a therapist for trauma, you may have come across EMDR therapy. But what is it, and why is it becoming a gold standard? In this guide, we’ll cover how EMDR works, what EMDR sessions typically look like, and why EMDR offers a unique, effective choice for healing.
How EMDR THERAPY Works
Developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro in 1987, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) was initially designed for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but its reach has since expanded.
To explain how EMDR works, let’s talk about trauma. Psychologists believe traumatic memories differ from regular ones. Normally, your brain processes experiences by linking them to “memory networks,” or the networks that connect your different memories. This process also dials down the emotional intensity of memories. However, trauma can overwhelm this system of processing memories. As a result, traumatic memories become “stuck” outside of memory networks and retain their original distressing feelings, sensations, and beliefs. These memories are easy to bring back, which is why a current trigger can make an adult feel as if they are reliving a childhood trauma.
EMDR uses bilateral stimulation, or gentle back-and-forth sensory input, to activate both the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Examples of bilateral stimulation include following a therapist’s fingers with your eyes, listening to alternating tones, or alternating taps across your chest. The alternating left-right stimulations help integrate traumatic memories and reduce their weight. While you briefly bring a distressing memory to mind, the bilateral stimulation helps your brain stay connected to the present moment and signals safety to the nervous system. This allows the memory to be reprocessed and stored more like a past event rather than something that is still happening now. As this occurs, the emotional intensity decreases, and new, more adaptive understanding often develops.
EMDR in Practice
Unlike traditional talk therapy, EMDR follows a highly structured approach. Typically, in an initial EMDR therapy session for trauma, your therapist will begin by learning about your background and the specific events or memories you’d like to address. They will also build trust with you so you can feel safe and grounded in future sessions, which is a crucial component of EMDR. Building a strong sense of trust is vital here; your therapist will ensure you feel grounded and safe before any processing begins. Together, you’ll identify a negative belief associated with your trauma (e.g., “I am helpless”) and choose a positive and more realistic one to replace it with (e.g., “I am capable”).
In future sessions, your therapist will guide you to evoke the traumatic memory while engaging in bilateral stimulation. These sets of stimulation typically last less than a minute. The goal is for you to stay present with yourself while your brain processes the memory.
Once the memory no longer causes acute distress, you’ll work to link your new and more adaptive thought to that memory. You’ll also work on transforming some of the bodily sensations associated with the memory. Each session ends with a debriefing period to ensure you feel calm and stable before you leave.
While EMDR may differ from therapy techniques you’ve heard of before, many people find it transformative. People who have gone through EMDR find that it changes them deeply, impacting how they think and act. In addition, EMDR can be used to treat addiction and mood disorders. All of this progress in EMDR relies on having a trusting relationship with your therapist, so make sure you find someone who is the right fit for you.
What Makes EMDR Unique?
There are several ways in which EMDR differs from other trauma therapy techniques, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). First, EMDR focuses on the root cause of trauma, transforming the associated memory. In contrast, CBT creates new strategies for reacting to a memory and can help the fear associated with the memory fade, but CBT leaves the original memory intact. Proponents of EMDR argue that this means EMDR can provide deeper healing, since integrating the traumatic memory can help the body continue the healing process.
EMDR also typically requires fewer sessions than CBT. Cognitive therapies such as CBT often require 15 to 20 sessions to help 50 percent of patients recover. In contrast, EMDR can produce improvements in only three sessions, with one study finding EMDR can eliminate a PTSD diagnosis in around 83% of participants after four sessions. Therefore, for people who are concerned about the cost of therapy, EMDR may be a cost-effective option.
Related to how it uses fewer sessions, EMDR also has less of a focus on talking than CBT does. An EMDR therapist will start by understanding your trauma; however, the focus of EMDR is to reactivate memories while you remain present with them. In contrast, CBT centers on conversation. Some people find EMDR to be a gentler way of approaching trauma precisely because there’s not as much of a focus on describing the memory verbally.
Who Can Benefit From EMDR?
EMDR was originally developed to help people deal with trauma and the stress associated with it. In everyday life, we usually use the word “trauma” to refer to a single, extraordinarily distressing event. However, trauma can also occur as a result of repeated distressing events over time. Everyday life stressors can also create symptoms of trauma that EMDR can help you with.
EMDR isn’t limited to trauma, either. There’s emerging evidence that it can help with a variety of mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression, bipolar disorder, and substance use disorders. This includes cases in which these conditions do and don’t coexist with trauma.
Conclusion
EMDR is a structured therapy that uses bilateral stimulation to help your brain process traumatic memories. By targeting the root cause of distress, it may provide deeper, faster, gentler, and more cost-effective healing than traditional talk therapy for conditions like PTSD. Ready to move forward? If you're looking for a trauma therapist in Providence, RI, we are here to help you navigate the path to peace; our team member Fenella Ting, LMHC, has open availability and is trained in EMDR therapy.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How does EMDR help you heal from trauma?
EMDR helps promote healing by transforming traumatic memories. It uses bilateral stimulation—usually guided eye movements—to help your brain process memories, which can reduce their emotional intensity and help you see them in a new light.
2.How long does EMDR take TO WORK?
While every journey is different, EMDR may reduce symptoms faster than traditional talk therapy, often producing improvements in as few as three sessions.
3. Who can benefit from EMDR?
While EMDR was originally developed to treat PTSD, it can be helpful for other mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and substance use. EMDR is helpful for individuals both with and without trauma.