What is EMDR?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. Since that’s a mouthful, most people just call it EMDR. It is a form of psychotherapy designed to reduce the distress associated with traumatic or painful memories. The basic idea behind EMDR is that if you are given the opportunity to revisit these traumatic memories in a safe space, your trauma symptoms will improve. EMDR uses stimuli like eye movements, tapping, and audible tones (more on that below) to help your mind reprocess the trauma memories. This often results in you having less trauma or PTSD symptoms. In other words, you feel better and less “stuck.” People who participate in EMDR therapy feel less anxiety, fear, sadness, depression, worry, insomnia, anger after EMDR. In other words, people have better overall mental health after participating in EMDR.
If you’ve tried lots of other methods and haven’t found relief from old wounds of the past, EMDR might be the hope you’ve been looking for. Just talking about your trauma isn’t always enough- EMDR can help you experience something new in therapy and overcome the cause of your pain.
What do you mean by “Eye Movement”?
EMDR was discovered when Dr. Francine Shapiro noticed that rapidly moving her eyes (similar to the movements that happen during REM sleep) helped lessen the pain that came with certain traumatic memories. She began experimenting and developed the first EMDR technique which involved following a person’s fingers back and forth with your eyes. This became known as “bilateral stimulation.” From there other forms of bilateral stimulation were created such as a sound going back and forth from left ear to right ear, and vibrating pulsers held in the hands that alternate left and right.
Having several different types of bilateral stimulation gives you the option to have your eyes open or closed. It also means we can choose which approach works best for you.
How does EMDR work?
We don’t entirely understand what causes EMDR to be so effective. However, the most popular theory is that the brain is copying what happens during Rapid Eye Movement (REM sleep). This means that we can access your traumatic memories and remember how they made you feel. EMDR therapy gives you the chance to change how you think about the traumatic event by giving you a chance to re-experience the trauma in a safe way. When you revisit the traumatic incident you will have the guidance and support of a licensed EMDR therapist.
“More than 30 positive controlled outcome studies have been done on EMDR therapy. Some of the studies show that 84%-90% of single-trauma victims no longer have post-traumatic stress disorder after only three 90-minute sessions. Another study, funded by the HMO Kaiser Permanente, found that 100% of the single-trauma victims and 77% of multiple trauma victims no longer were diagnosed with PTSD”
Is EMDR only for PTSD?
EMDR is best known as a trauma treatment to help survivors of trauma resolve post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. It’s a really effective way to help people who have struggled with PTSD and trauma symptoms for years. However, EMDR can help people who don’t have PTSD as well.
Even if you don’t consider yourself a survivor of significant trauma, EMDR may be helpful. Any issue that is associated with a painful memory or experience could potentially be helped with EMDR. Some issues an EMDR therapist might help with include:
Trauma
Anxiety
Fear
Worry
Insomnia
Sadness
Depression
Unexplained physiological symptoms
Self-esteem
Grief
Spirituality
Existential issues
Other Mental Health Services Available at Strive On Counseling
As Asheville therapists, we understand that every individual has a unique set of mental health needs. Therefore, we offer many services and forms of therapy. More specifically, our services include individual counseling, anxiety treatment, EMDR trauma therapy, therapy for men’s issues, mindfulness, buddhist counseling, cognitive behavioral therapy, teletherapy / online therapy. Some other resources we offer include guided meditations, supplements, a list of books and other useful resources, and online courses. If you would like more information about any of these services, please reach out today, and start doing therapy in North Carolina!