What’s EMDR?

If you’ve experienced or witnessed a terrifying event like a violent crime, sexual assault, car accident, or natural disaster, then you know how the nightmares, flashbacks, edginess, and moodiness can make it feel like it happened yesterday - even if it’s been months, years, or decades. That’s because your brain was so overwhelmed by what happened that it was unable to properly process the event and is now storing the memory in a “raw” format. Even less extreme experiences like a painful break-up, personal loss, social humiliation, or childhood rejection can likewise generate “stuck” memories that keep re-emerging again and again.

Big or small, these distressing experiences can then lead to negative thoughts about yourself, others, the world, and the future. For example, a common negative thought is “nowhere is safe.” Although one part of your mind may logically understand that these negative thoughts aren’t true, another part of your mind may remain unconvinced. These negative thoughts can then result in disturbing emotions like anxiety, depression, anger, and shame. In turn, these disturbing emotions can motivate unhealthy actions like aggression, self-isolation, self-sabotage, and addictive behaviours.

Fortunately, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) can help.

How does EMDR work?

EMDR is a psychotherapeutic technique designed to partially or entirely alleviate the negative thoughts and disturbing emotions associated with traumatic or upsetting memories using bilateral stimulation, usually horizontal eye movements. First, we’ll identify specific target memories and the associated thoughts and emotions that you’d like to improve. Next, I’ll guide you through the eye movements while you focus on these memories. This will facilitate your brain’s natural information processing abilities, allowing your memories to be successfully integrated. Finally, we’ll use the eye movements again to ingrain a more positive outlook on your experience that highlights your resilience. To be clear: EMDR cannot “erase” bad memories nor “brainwash" you into thinking or feeling in ways that are inauthentic. Rather, EMDR aims to reduce the intensity of these memories, thoughts, and feelings and promote the acceptance of a new and more adaptive viewpoint. For example, the thought “nowhere is safe” may be replaced by “I trust myself to keep myself safe.”

A demonstrably effective treatment

Numerous studies have supported the efficacy of EMDR in treating trauma-related disorders as well as distress related to chronic pain and illness, anxiety, depression, and other issues. Moreover, EMDR has been endorsed by organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Psychological Association (APA). However, EMDR is not for everybody as it can result in a temporary increase in mental disturbance. If you’re curious whether EMDR may be a good fit for you, then contact me using the form below or email me at sue@suebedfordpsychotherapy.com to book a free consultation. I can’t wait to meet you!