EMDR

A Closer Look at the word, “Trauma”

A traumatic memory is not defined by the magnitude of the event, but by the way it is stored in the body. For example, when we begin to recall the anxiety-provoking situation where we may have made a mistake at work and were bullied by our bosses, we may feel a tightness in the chest, nausea, and may begin to get hot and start sweating. We then might start thinking to ourselves, “what is wrong with me, I’m such a failure”.

As compared to a “narrative” or “memory without trauma”, a traumatic memory-that is made up of images, beliefs, emotions, bodily sensations- is fragmented within the brain and becomes “frozen”. Otherwise, a narrative memory is one where we can talk about the event and remain calm in our bodies.

There are actually two key elements of EMDR treatment. The first is something called “bilateral stimulation”–which just means “two-sided stimulation”. You probably know that your brain has a right hemisphere and a left hemisphere and that each side of your body is “hard-wired” to a specific side of your brain. Creating a rhythmic, back and forth stimulation of each hemisphere of the brain seems to stimulate something we call the “information processing system” to go into a highly accelerated mode of functioning- -which is exactly the treatment effect we have to create to get the results we are after. There are several different methods that have been developed for creating the “bilateral stimulation” effect such as eye movements, tapping on the back of your hands, knee tap stimulation, thera-tappers (a pulsating device you hold in the palms of your hands), auditory tones that create a sound in your ears and/or a combination of them to help you during the process. We will try them out and decide which one works best for you. I am sensitive about people’s “personal space” so if there is anything about this that is at all uncomfortable for you just let me know and there’s modifications we can make.

The second key element of EMDR treatment is sort of the “art and science” of how I have to prompt and guide your thoughts while we are “doing” the bilateral stimulation. I’ll explain this in more detail later, however, in a nutshell how I do this will be determined by a number of factors individual to your unique situation. The end result of EMDR treatment is to reduce and eliminate negative thoughts, feelings and behaviors to enable you to really be at your best in your life.
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After we have completed the preparation phase we will be ready to move into the EMDR assessment protocol and the desensitization phases (BLS). We will identify a specific problem/issue as the focus of our EMDR treatment session. I will ask you to call to mind the disturbing issue or event we have targeted to work on. I will then ask you what you saw, felt, heard, thought, etc. and what thoughts and beliefs you currently have about that event. We will then used BLS to stimulate your brain while you focus on the disturbing material and I will ask you to “just notice” whatever comes to mind without making any effort to control the content or direction it takes. Just allow yourself to sit back and let the material move itself with you as the interested spectator – like sitting in a movie and watching a film. There is no right or wrong way of processing. Your job is to just let whatever happens to happen. Each person will process information uniquely based on personal experiences.

The bottom line is that EMDR is different than talk therapy. During an EMDR session I will encourage you to talk LESS – the idea is to keep the process moving! BLS is continued until the memory becomes less disturbing and is associated with positive thoughts and beliefs about yourself, for example “I am incompetent” to “I did the best I could.”

During EMDR, you may experience various degrees of emotions, body sensations and thoughts however, by the end of the session most people report a great reduction in their level of distress. It is important to know however that your brain continues to work on your problem and the related information after your EMDR session is over. You may have new insights and/or new disturbing information come to your attention in the form of images, thoughts, feelings or sensations. THIS IS NORMAL!!. Please write them down so we can discuss them the next time you come in. If things feel too overwhelming please do not hesitate to call me.

You may be tired at the end of your EMDR session. Please try and schedule your session so that you can have time to rest afterwards.

EMDR has a tendency to make bad memories seem very distant. If we are dealing with something related to a legal case and you have to testify in court, you will want to talk to your attorney about the possible implications of your treatment – in other words you may end up as a lousy witness because your emotional reaction to the event will be lessened. In that case you may choose to postpone EMDR until after your case has settled.

EMDR has the ability to bring back a memory so strongly that you may momentarily feel the same intensity of emotion that you had at the time of the original event, so it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that during our history taking phase that you tell me about any significant trauma(s) you have experienced so we can have “emotional management” tools in place so you don’t have to be afraid of your feelings anymore.

Also, if you are in recovery for any form of addiction and “strong feelings” are one of your triggers – ”working a strong program” would be highly encouraged, along with a good relapse prevention plan in place.

Taking prescribed medication supervised under the care of a licensed psychiatrist/ medical doctor can be an adjunct to any psychotherapy treatment plan. The advantage of using EMDR opens the possibility to restore your body’s ability to self-regulate brain chemistry properly on its own. The research shows that EMDR has great success in helping people reduce and often eliminate their need for antidepressants, anxiety medications and ADD/ADHD medications to name a few. Working closely with your prescribing physician is an important part of the treatment plan. Please be aware that:

You should never alter your use of your prescribed medications and/or stop taking prescribed medications without discussing it with your medical doctor.

For detailed answers to that question I would encourage you to go to www.emdr.com/studies.htm or through EMDR International Association’s website www.emdria.org but here are a few quick answers:

• EMDR is the most researched psychotherapy method for PTSD. There have been more controlled studies that have evaluated the effectiveness of EMDR in the treatment of PTSD than any other method.
• EMDR has been judged as empirically validated and given a rating of “highest level of effectiveness” in numerous international practice guidelines including The American Association Practice Guidelines.
• A study underwritten for the treatment of PTSD by Kaiser-Permanente of California found that EMDR was twice as effective in half the time when compared to the standard type of treatment.
• The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies has stated that EMDR is an “effective treatment”. EMDR is endorsed by the American Red Cross, the FBI, the International Critical and the Incident Stress Management Foundation.

No, EMDR is very different than hypnosis in three important ways:

(1) In EMDR you don’t go into any kind of “altered state” – you are totally aware of what is going on, you are totally in control of the process, and it’s nothing that somebody is doing to you. It’s your brain that’s doing the work; the EMDR is simply a catalyst for speeding up the benefits you get from psychotherapy.

(2) EMDR does not have the capacity to create false memories.

And, (3) EMDR is not at all dependent on the placebo effect; in other words, somebody can be totally convinced that it’s not going to work and it still works just as well, because it’s purely a biophysical process.

It’s the biggest skeptics that I have the most fun with when we first start doing EMDR, because they’re the most surprised at how well it works!

Typical EMDR session are scheduled from 60 – 90 minutes. The type of problem, life circumstances and the amount of previous trauma will determine how many treatment sessions are necessary. EMDR may be used within a standard “talking” therapy session, as an adjunctive therapy with a separate therapist or as a treatment all by itself.

To begin, one or more sessions are required for me to understand the nature of your problem and to decide if EMDR is an appropriate treatment option. Once we decide that EMDR will be used, depending on the nature of your problem will impact how quickly you have resolution. You can help the process by following these lifestyle guidelines – get on a consistent sleep schedule, practice the resource exercises I teach you, get some form of exercise everyday, drink lots of water, reduce the amount of carbohydrates you eat, avoid the use of chemical depressants (like alcohol and marijuana) and restrict the use of chemical stimulants (like caffeine and nicotine).