What is EMDR?

EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a psychotherapy approach designed to help individuals heal from trauma or other distressing life experiences. It was developed by Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s.

EMDR is primarily used to treat trauma-related conditions, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, it has also been found effective for a variety of other psychological issues, including anxiety, depression, phobias, and panic disorders.

The 8 phase model

The process of EMDR involves several phases:

  1. History Taking and Treatment Planning: The therapist gathers detailed information about the client's history and develops a treatment plan tailored to their specific needs.

  2. Preparation: The client is educated about EMDR, what to expect during the sessions, and is taught various relaxation and grounding techniques to use for managing stress.

  3. Assessment: The client identifies a specific traumatic memory to target. The therapist helps the client pinpoint the vivid visual image related to the memory, the negative beliefs about themselves linked to the event, and the emotions and body sensations associated with it.

  4. Desensitisation: This phase involves the core EMDR technique, where the client focuses on the traumatic memory while simultaneously following the therapist’s hand movements with their eyes, listening to bilateral audio tones, or experiencing tactile stimulation. This bilateral stimulation is believed to help the brain process and integrate the traumatic memory, reducing its emotional charge.

  5. Installation: The therapist helps the client replace the negative beliefs with positive ones, strengthening the new, healthier and adaptive beliefs through continued bilateral stimulation.

  6. Body Scan: The client is asked to focus on any residual physical sensations associated with the memory. Any remaining tension or discomfort is addressed until it dissipates.

  7. Closure: Each session ends with a return to a state of calm, using the relaxation techniques practiced earlier. This ensures the client leaves the session feeling safe and grounded.

  8. Reevaluation: At the beginning of subsequent sessions, the therapist and client review progress and determine what to focus on next.

EMDR Theories

The exact mechanisms behind EMDR are not fully understood, but several theories have been proposed:

  • Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) Model: suggests that trauma disrupts the brain's natural ability to process information. Normally, experiences are processed and integrated into our memory networks. However, traumatic events can get "stuck" in their raw form, leading to ongoing distress and dysfunction. EMDR is thought to facilitate the processing and integration of these traumatic memories, transforming them into a more adaptive form.

  • Working Memory Theory: suggests that EMDR's bilateral stimulation (such as eye movements) taxes the working memory. Since working memory has limited capacity, focusing on both the traumatic memory and the bilateral stimulation at the same time makes the memory less vivid and distressing. This dual-task interference reduces the emotional impact of the traumatic memory, allowing it to be reprocessed in a less distressing form.

  • Orienting Response: this is a natural reaction to new stimuli, which includes alertness and increased attention. In EMDR, the bilateral stimulation might trigger this response, leading to heightened awareness and processing of the traumatic memory. This process can help in desensitising and reprocessing the memory.

  • Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep is associated with the processing and integration of emotional experiences. EMDR’s eye movements resemble those that occur during REM sleep, suggesting that EMDR might facilitate a similar type of processing. This hypothesis posits that EMDR helps the brain to process and integrate traumatic memories much like it does during REM sleep, contributing to emotional regulation and resolution.

  • Neurobiological mechanisms: Emerging research in neuroscience suggests that EMDR may affect brain regions involved in memory and emotion, such as the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex. Bilateral stimulation could promote changes in these areas, reducing hyperarousal and enhancing the brain’s capacity to reprocess traumatic memories.

  • Dual Attention Stimulus: This theory involves the concept of dual attention, where the client maintains simultaneous attention to both the traumatic memory and the external bilateral stimulation. This dual focus might help in reducing the vividness and emotional intensity of the memory, making it more manageable and less distressing.

While these theories provide plausible explanations for how EMDR works, it is important to note that ongoing research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms behind EMDR. The convergence of findings from various theoretical perspectives supports the efficacy of EMDR, contributing to its acceptance as a valuable therapeutic approach for trauma and related conditions.

Why Train?

Click here to learn why we believe you should train in EMDR.