EMDR Therapy
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, is an evidenced-based therapy with at least 26 randomized control studies evaluating efficacy for the treatment of trauma, and hundreds of other studies evaluating the use of EMDR for other disorders and the mechanisms involved with the modality. Research has proven EMDR can be beneficial for issues beyond acute trauma, including issues such as anxiety, panic, depression, low self-esteem, grief, phobias, performance anxiety, eating disorders, and addiction.
Per the VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder, EMDR therapy was placed in the category of three “trauma-focused psychotherapies with the strongest evidence from clinical trials… tested in numerous clinical trials, in patients with complex presentations and comorbidities, compared to active control conditions, have long-term follow-up, and have been validated by research teams other than the developers.”
EMDR is based on the Adaptive Information Processing theory and is a 3-pronged, 8 phase, structured protocol. The 3-pronged approach insures that the past, present, and future are being considered in the treatment plan.
The 8 phases of EMDR are as follows:
History & Treatment Planning
Preparation
Assessment
Desensitization of Negative Event
Installation of Positive Cognition
Body Scan
Closure
Reevaluation
Unlike the majority of therapy modalities, EMDR addresses not only the negative thoughts and emotions that impact core beliefs, but it also addresses the physical symptoms related to past experiences, thoughts, and emotions.
Essentially, the important thing to understand is that trauma (both Big T Trauma & little t trauma) impacts how information is stored in the brain and sometimes can cause it to get stuck and not process in an adaptable way. It affects how we think about ourselves and can cause negative beliefs to develop. Our brain stores these Negative Cognitions (NCs) with the emotions felt during the trauma, and our body stores the memory/memories as physical sensations. EMDR helps to process (unstick) the thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations so that we no longer experience the trauma as something that feels like it just happened, or respond to seemingly threatening events, even those that may be benign, with a heightened response (fight/flight/freeze).