EMDR for Trauma

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprogramming) is a psychotherapy technique designed specifically to alleviate the distressing aftereffects of trauma. The causes of some trauma can be obvious: combat, childhood abuse, sudden death, natural or manmade disasters.  The cause of other more everyday traumas may be minimized, discounted, or even “forgotten:” divorce, job loss, accident or injury, failure. Whatever the cause, there is often an aftermath to trauma that appears some time after the traumatic event as a puzzling array of mental, emotional and physical symptoms that often compromises life and relationships. In it’s most extreme form this is known as PTSD – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Recent research suggests that attachment difficulties in childhood may play a part in a person’s susceptibility, but in every case how a person perceives the traumatic event subjectively is the most important factor; what may not bother one person another may experience as disruptive and debilitating.

As symbolized by the photograph on this page, a halo of clouds over a volcano, EMDR can bring peace to the eruptions of trauma. Dr. Francine Shapiro, the developer of EMDR, puts it this way:

Often, when something traumatic happens, it seems to get locked in the nervous system with the original picture, sounds, thoughts, feelings, and so on.  Since the experience is locked there, it continues to be triggered whenever a reminder comes up.  It can be the basis for a lot of discomfort and sometimes a lot of negative emotions, such as fear and helplessness, that we can’t seem to control. These are really the emotions connected with the old experience that are being triggered.

The techniques used in EMDR seem to unlock the nervous system and allow the brain to process the experience. That may be what is happening in REM, or dream sleep: the eye movements may be involved in processing the unconscious material. The important thing to remember is that it is your own brain that will be doing the healing and that you are the one in control.

Although no one can yet say just how EMDR works, it is acknowledged as a fast, safe and proven treatment for adults and children suffering from the aftermath of trauma. In essence, it involves neurobiological reprogramming with the use of the bi-lateral stimulation of the brain.  Originally, this involved shifting eye movement from left to right but today therapists employ easier and more sophisticated methods. EMDR and hypnosis are complementary therapies. In the context of psychotherapy the combination can often be especially effective.  Depending on a person’s readiness, most symptoms of trauma can be relieved in from 1 to 12 sessions.  EMDR is the treatment of choice for trauma as endorsed and recommended by the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the International Society for Traumatic Stress.

EMDR has proven effective in relieving the symptoms of trauma for:

• Veterans of combat (nightmares, phobias, phantom limb pain)
• People with irrational fears and panic disorders
• Victims of criminal and other violence
• Police officers, firefighters and paramedics (stress of their jobs)
• People experiencing excessive and prolonged grief after a death
• Children who have been abused or suffered other trauma
• Victims of sexual assault
• Victims of natural or manmade disasters, including terrorism
• Victims of accident, surgery or burns
• People who have lost their jobs
• People suffering sexual and/or marital dysfunction
• People suffering addictive problems (chemical, gambling)
• People with somatic complaints (chronic pain)
• People who want to enhance their performance in business, sports or the performing arts.

 

But it’s important to remember that this list is far from complete. We all suffer at some time in life, and sometimes that suffering is the result of trauma. EMDR can help.