EMDR Therapy
EMDR therapy is a cost-effective, non-invasive, evidence-based method of psychotherapy that facilitates adaptive information processing. It is an eight-phase treatment that comprehensively identifies and addresses experiences that have overwhelmed the brain’s natural resilience or coping capacity and have thereby generated traumatic symptoms and/or harmful coping strategies. Through EMDR therapy, patients are able to reprocess traumatic information until it is no longer psychologically disruptive.
Initially, EMDR was used and studied as a therapy for PTSD, itself a relatively new diagnosis for an age-old human condition. More than 20 controlled clinical trials of EMDR therapy have now been completed and reported. These reports attest to its value and prove its value across all ages, genders, and cultures for PTSD.
Thousands of clinicians have been trained in EMDR therapy and have applied the procedures of this therapy to other conditions. These include: Personality disorders, depression, anxiety disorders, grief, stress reduction, dissociative disorders, addictions, various types of abuse and many others.
During this procedure, patients tend to “process” the memory in a way that leads to a peaceful outcome. This often results in better insight regarding both previously disturbing events and long held negative thoughts about the self. For example, an assault victim may come to realize that he was not to blame for what happened, that the event is really over, and, as a result he can regain a general sense of safety in his world.
Adaptive Information Processing
The Guiding Principle of EMDR Theory
The Adaptive Information Processing Model has been created from studies of people in various states of emotional health and dysfunction. The model reveals that health is maintained by positive and successful experiences that prepare a person to handle new challenges and that the brain is equipped to manage and process danger.
Alternatively, there are some life experiences that may exceed certain individuals’ ability to process and cope. Take for example a splinter in the hand. It can cause pain and infection, and while taking out the splinter may hurt, the body can eventually heal. The same is true for emotional trauma. Depending on the difficulty of the experience, the coping skills of the person affected, and the availability of support, some traumas may be too demanding to move on from. The AIP model, offers therapists a method to help an individuals brain effectively process and heal from these difficult memories. This process can lead to a reduction in suffering, new coping skills, and a decline in the physical stress responses.
How does EMDR work?
While research is actively taking place, the precise way by which EMDR works to resolve traumatic stress is unclear. This is in part because we are just beginning to understand exactly how the brain processes intense memories and emotions. Neuropsychologists believe EMDR enables those experiencing treatment to access traumatic memories and process them emotionally and cognitively, helping their resolution.
“We believe that EMDR induces a fundamental change in brain circuitry similar to what happens in REM sleep — that allows the person undergoing treatment to more effectively process and incorporate traumatic memories into general association networks in the brain. This helps the individual integrate and understand the memories within the larger context of his or her life experience.”
Robert Stickgold, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School
By opening these memories in the context of a safe environment, the theory is that information processing is enhanced, with new associations forged between the traumatic memory and more adaptive memories or information. These new associations result in complete information processing, new learning, removal of emotional difficulty, and the development of cognitive understanding about the memories.
“EMDR quickly opens new windows on reality, allowing people to see solutions within themselves that they never knew were there. And it’s a therapy where the client is very much in charge, which can be particularly meaningful when people are recovering from having their power taken away by abuse and violation.”
Laura S. Brown, Ph.D.
