Embark on a journey to understand EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), a transformative therapy for trauma recovery. Evan breaks down the science behind EMDR, how it works, and who can benefit from it. Watch as real-life success stories illuminate the profound impact EMDR can have on healing and recovery.
EMDR stands for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. Instead of talking about trauma, eye movements are used to desensite you to the traumatic triggers. Research shows that EMDR helps people who have been through severe trauma to move past it.
One of the most revolutionary and popular therapies for trauma right now is known as EMDR, and that stands for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. A little bit of a mouthful, I know, but in this video, I want to break down what it is, why it works, and how it's different than other therapies. I'm Evan, your resident mental health and addiction therapist, and this is my EMDR breakdown. The first thing to understand about EMDR and what makes it different than other therapies is it's less about talking.
It's more focused on targeting those symptoms stored in your mind and body, things that stem from the trauma itself. And that's where the eye movements come in. Instead of talking about trauma, they're using a technique where eye movements are used to desensitize you to the traumatic triggers. And we don't know exactly why it works. It's thought that maybe it mimics REM sleep, which helps your brain process what it goes through in a given day. And that since traumatic feelings and memories are really unprocessed and still affect you today, that those eye movements may help you make sense of it.
Now, even though we don't know why it works, we know it works. There's a ton of evidence and research showing that it helps people who have been through severe trauma and who have really struggled with other means, including other therapies, to move past it. Now, it's worth noting that even though EMDR started off with eye movements, hence the EM, they use other types of what they call bilateral stimulation that they found also works that could be through audio, for example, hearing a beep go each side of your ear, anything that crosses the midline of the body.
That could also be through something called tappers, where you hold onto two little buzzers that gently go right, left, right, left. Now, how does this have anything to do with trauma therapy? Now, like we talked about, whether it's processing the traumatic memories or desensitizing you to triggers in sessions, you will purposely be exposed to some of those triggers, the things that you avoid because they're uncomfortable. However, when you're able to push through and you're able to tolerate those bilateral stimulations with the trauma triggers, it really does desensitize you and makes you feel much more free.
Now, other than just bilateral stimulation to desensitize you from triggers, EMDR is much more comprehensive. It's actually an eight phase process. Now, I'm not going to go detail every single one, but it starts with something as simple as history taking, but also analyzing. What are those negative experiences that still impact you today? How does it impact your day to day life and how you think about yourself and the world? And that's why EmDr is so powerful. It's not just about healing the physical sensations in the body.
It's about completely changing your outlook, changing the narrative, the story you tell yourself about the trauma as a way to re empower yourself, to be able to move forward and live a life worth living. EMDR has been around for almost 30 years now, and we've learned a lot more. Practitioners are using EMDR for much more than just ptsd and trauma, for things like anxiety, phobias, or anything else that's really holding folks back, where talk therapy may not be doing the trick. So, look, if this seems interesting whatsoever, I recommend trying it.
I know it may seem a little strange. EMDR has gotten a lot of criticism because people thought it was too good to be true, or frankly, too weird. But the research speaks for itself. So do the client testimonials, the thousands, I don't know, millions of people by now that it's helped go from feeling hopeless, being weighed down by their trauma, to feeling free and healed. Right now, finding a therapist, particularly one specialized, can be difficult. However, you should be able to find someone that has openings near you or even online.
Yes, EMDR can be done virtually, and it's also really effective. So you can do a search on something like psychology today, a simple Google search. Or, or you can go to Emdr's main website, Emdria, and they're going to have a list of practitioners near you that are certified and are going to be able to really help.
