If you have experienced trauma or PTSD, you may find yourself open to trying anything. While there are several forms of therapy to improve various mental health disorders, EMDR has recently emerged as an effective treatment for PTSD.
What is EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is a method of psychotherapy meant to help people with PTSD, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, eating disorders, substance use, and more. The purpose of this technique is to encourage the natural healing process of the brain rather than altering its thoughts or behaviors toward a traumatic event.
How Does it Work?
The brain goes through a natural process in an attempt to heal itself from past traumatic encounters or memories, and EMDR assists during this process. The amygdala is what senses and reacts to stress stimuli. In this moment, the cerebral cortex, responsible for reasoning and maintaining rational thinking, is deactivated. The hippocampus is what helps you learn, which stems from memories, and in this case, negative ones. This is what helps humans understand if they are in a dangerous situation or not, activating a sense of fight or flight. The prefrontal cortex is what determines and controls our behavior and feelings towards these situations while setting them in motion.
When discussing negative memories, it can sometimes feel as if you were reliving them in that moment. This can result in a person becoming overwhelmed and upset, losing complete control over the healing process. To manage this and to resume proper healing, EMDR calms the brain and nervous system, allowing you to recall the memories and fully process them.
Treatment
EMDR therapy is segmented into 8 phases, the first being treatment planning/history taking. It is crucial to learn the full history of a patient undergoing any kind of traumatic stress so that the therapist can target the problem faster and begin treatment as soon as possible. The therapist will conduct a full assessment of the patient before proceeding.
The second phase will be preparation: preparing the patient by teaching them breathing techniques and mental health exercises to settle them into a relaxed state.
The third phase is assessment: selecting a painful memory to target for the use of treatment.
The fourth phase will be desensitization: While someone is channeling a traumatic memory or thought, they will be simultaneously guided by the use of bilateral stimulation, which is the act of certain eye movements, blinking lights, sounds, and sometimes tapping. They will then be told to let any sporadic thought or emotion enter their mind, then will be asked to refocus on the memory that provokes any uneasy feelings.
The fifth phase is the start of installation: This is the point in which you implement positive cognition by “installing” a happy/good thought or image in place of the haunting one.
The sixth phase moves onto the body scan: the therapist observes and questions the patient’s physical response to the thought of the memory, and will ask if the patient feels pain or sensation during the recollection. If they do, the therapist will resume another round or EMDR treatment.
After the session has ended, the therapist will take a moment to review the progress and improvements the patient has made with the use of phase seven: closure. The patient may be asked to continue specific strategies to preserve any positive results.
Finally, phase 8 is all about re-evaluation. In the following session, the therapist will ask the patient to revisit the memory that was discussed in their last session. The purpose of this is to monitor and make sure that the therapy has had lasting results so the therapist can move on and target other traumatic experiences.
Though EMDR is a fairly new way to treat trauma, it has had many successful outcome studies proving positive effects in patients with mental health disorders. There’s no reason to allow yourself to suffer when you can have a helping hand. This form of therapy may be the answer you’re seeking and provide the peace you deserve. Interested in learning more? Schedule a visit with Susan Bajza today!
