More about EMDR
■ Overview
■ How many sessions will it take?
■ How does EMDR work?
■ What are the side effects?
■ What is an EMDR session like?
■ Even more about EMDR
Overview
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy
method that was originally designed to alleviate the distress associated with
traumatic memories. EMDR aids the accessing and processing of traumatic
memories to resolve them and the accompanying distress. After successful
treatment with EMDR, emotional upset is relieved, negative beliefs are replaced
with more positive beliefs, and distressing body sensations are reduced. During
EMDR, the therapist invites you to focus on, or "target," emotionally disturbing
memories in brief doses while you also focus on an external stimulus. Therapist-
directed side-to-side eye movement is the most commonly used external stimulus
(and where the method gets its name), but a variety of other stimuli may be used.
EMDR facilitates the access of your network of memories, so the information in
those memories can be more productively processing, with new connections
forged between traumatic memories and more adaptive memories or information.
These new associations result in complete information processing, new learning,
elimination of emotional distress, and development of rational insights.
How many sessions will it take?
The number of sessions depends upon your specific problem and history.
However, studies have shown that a single, acute trauma (such as a car
accident) can be processed within 3 sessions in 80-90% of participants. While
every disturbing event need not be processed, the amount of therapy will depend
upon the complexity of your personal history. Please discuss this with your
therapist so you can set your expectations appropriately.
How does EMDR work?
The way any type of psychotherapy works has yet to be established definitively.
Brain science researchers are still exploring how the brain works. However, there
is evidence that we have a natural “adaptive information processing” system that
helps us adapt to events in daily life. Research suggests that when a person is
very upset, the brain cannot process information as it normally does. Some
traumatic events and recurring situations that provoke intense emotion become
"frozen in time," or "stuck" in the brain's information processing system.
Present day reminders of these prior experiences often trigger a re-experiencing
of sights, sounds, smells, thoughts, body sensations, or emotions that can feel as
intense as when first experienced. Although this is a normal reaction to an
abnormal situation, such unresolved memories may have a profoundly negative
impact on the way you see the world and relate to others. Under the influence of
such unresolved experiences, your behavior may become inflexible and
constricted to avoid painful re-experiencing.
EMDR appears to have a direct effect on the way the brain processes upsetting
memories. Research suggests that paying attention to the side-to-side stimulation
that is part of EMDR procedures triggers a natural brain and body mechanism
known as "the investigatory response" which in turn leads to adaptive information
processing. With adaptive information processing, it is primarily your own natural
capacities, rather than the interpretations or thoughts of the therapist that lead to
adaptive changes in thinking and emotional self-regulation.
With successful EMDR treatment, you come to understand that the event is in the
past, realize appropriately who or what was responsible for the event occurring,
and feel more certain about present-day safety and the capacity to make good
choices. You can still remember what happened, but with much less emotional
impact. You find that new, more flexible behaviors feel more possible and inviting.
Many types of therapy have similar goals. However, EMDR allows a natural
healing process to emerge. Clinical reports and analyses of multiple research
studies suggest that EMDR treatment produces initial effects more quickly,
permitting more rapid and complete working through of negative life experiences.
What are the side effects?
As with any form of psychotherapy, there may be a temporary increase in distress.
■ Distressing and unresolved memories may emerge. This is a normal and
natural part of the treatment process. Rather than a "side effect," this could be
considered a part of the main effect, leading to desensitizing and reprocessing
these "root" or "feeder" memories.
■ You may experience reactions during a treatment session that neither you nor
your therapist specifically anticipated, including a high level of emotion or intense
physical sensations. By this time in the treatment process, much work was done
to prepare you for this possibility. Plus, your therapist will help you handle
whatever comes up during the session.
■ After the treatment session, information processing may continue, and other
dreams, memories, feelings, etc., may emerge. If this should become too much
for you to handle on your own, you are welcome to call your therapist, who will
help you.
What is an EMDR session like?
In targeting a disturbing memory or situation, an EMDR-trained therapist follows a
well-defined and client-oriented process. First the therapist helps you identify an
image that represents the target memory, a negative belief about yourself, and
the emotions and body sensations associated with the targeted situation or
memory. You are then asked to identify a preferred belief about yourself and to
rate the believability of this new belief while thinking of the disturbing event.
You are asked to bring to mind all the negative information associated with the
problem. You move your eyes back and forth, following the therapist’s moving
hand. In some cases, sounds, hand taps, or other mechanisms are used instead
of eye movements. After each set of eye movements, sounds, or taps, you are
asked to briefly comment on what comes to mind at that point.
The experience of an EMDR session is different for each person. Most people
find EMDR quickly and significantly reduces feelings of disturbance. Research
shows this effect is not due to hypnotic trance or suggestion by the therapist.
Rather, it appears to result from a natural re-balancing in the levels of arousal in
various regions of the brain that lead to spontaneous adaptive shifts in emotion,
body sensation, and associated thoughts. However, sometimes the disturbance
associated with a targeted memory or situation initially increases during
processing as more aspects of the situation emerge.
The therapist supports you during the processing of upsetting material. Should
difficulties arise in processing occasional blockages, the therapist makes clinical
decisions about how to achieve the most positive outcome possible in that
session. A specific traumatic memory or disturbing situation may resolve in as few
as one to three sessions. In some cases, targeted memories or situations may
require more attention when they are connected with prolonged, repetitive, or
early life neglect or abuse.
An EMDR-trained therapist provides a safe psychotherapy process. Before
processing disturbing memories or situations, EMDR is used to develop or
enhance "internal" resources, such as mental "safe/calm places" or skills and
strengths you need to achieve something. When processing disturbing memories,
EMDR is used to process all the information (the thoughts, feelings, sensations,
and coping strategies) associated with the original negative experience to move
you toward resolving the memories in a healthy, adaptive way. This means
reduced distress, increased confidence in yourself, more successful interactions
with others, and better performance at life activities.
Even more about EMDR
Please visit the following web sites or book for even more information:
EMDR International Association:
www.emdria.org
EMDR Institute:
www.emdr.com
EMDR: A Breakthrough Therapy for Overcoming Anxiety, Stress, and Trauma
by Francine Shapiro, Ph.D. & Margot Silk Forrest
■ Overview
■ How many sessions will it take?
■ How does EMDR work?
■ What are the side effects?
■ What is an EMDR session like?
■ Even more about EMDR
Overview
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy
method that was originally designed to alleviate the distress associated with
traumatic memories. EMDR aids the accessing and processing of traumatic
memories to resolve them and the accompanying distress. After successful
treatment with EMDR, emotional upset is relieved, negative beliefs are replaced
with more positive beliefs, and distressing body sensations are reduced. During
EMDR, the therapist invites you to focus on, or "target," emotionally disturbing
memories in brief doses while you also focus on an external stimulus. Therapist-
directed side-to-side eye movement is the most commonly used external stimulus
(and where the method gets its name), but a variety of other stimuli may be used.
EMDR facilitates the access of your network of memories, so the information in
those memories can be more productively processing, with new connections
forged between traumatic memories and more adaptive memories or information.
These new associations result in complete information processing, new learning,
elimination of emotional distress, and development of rational insights.
How many sessions will it take?
The number of sessions depends upon your specific problem and history.
However, studies have shown that a single, acute trauma (such as a car
accident) can be processed within 3 sessions in 80-90% of participants. While
every disturbing event need not be processed, the amount of therapy will depend
upon the complexity of your personal history. Please discuss this with your
therapist so you can set your expectations appropriately.
How does EMDR work?
The way any type of psychotherapy works has yet to be established definitively.
Brain science researchers are still exploring how the brain works. However, there
is evidence that we have a natural “adaptive information processing” system that
helps us adapt to events in daily life. Research suggests that when a person is
very upset, the brain cannot process information as it normally does. Some
traumatic events and recurring situations that provoke intense emotion become
"frozen in time," or "stuck" in the brain's information processing system.
Present day reminders of these prior experiences often trigger a re-experiencing
of sights, sounds, smells, thoughts, body sensations, or emotions that can feel as
intense as when first experienced. Although this is a normal reaction to an
abnormal situation, such unresolved memories may have a profoundly negative
impact on the way you see the world and relate to others. Under the influence of
such unresolved experiences, your behavior may become inflexible and
constricted to avoid painful re-experiencing.
EMDR appears to have a direct effect on the way the brain processes upsetting
memories. Research suggests that paying attention to the side-to-side stimulation
that is part of EMDR procedures triggers a natural brain and body mechanism
known as "the investigatory response" which in turn leads to adaptive information
processing. With adaptive information processing, it is primarily your own natural
capacities, rather than the interpretations or thoughts of the therapist that lead to
adaptive changes in thinking and emotional self-regulation.
With successful EMDR treatment, you come to understand that the event is in the
past, realize appropriately who or what was responsible for the event occurring,
and feel more certain about present-day safety and the capacity to make good
choices. You can still remember what happened, but with much less emotional
impact. You find that new, more flexible behaviors feel more possible and inviting.
Many types of therapy have similar goals. However, EMDR allows a natural
healing process to emerge. Clinical reports and analyses of multiple research
studies suggest that EMDR treatment produces initial effects more quickly,
permitting more rapid and complete working through of negative life experiences.
What are the side effects?
As with any form of psychotherapy, there may be a temporary increase in distress.
■ Distressing and unresolved memories may emerge. This is a normal and
natural part of the treatment process. Rather than a "side effect," this could be
considered a part of the main effect, leading to desensitizing and reprocessing
these "root" or "feeder" memories.
■ You may experience reactions during a treatment session that neither you nor
your therapist specifically anticipated, including a high level of emotion or intense
physical sensations. By this time in the treatment process, much work was done
to prepare you for this possibility. Plus, your therapist will help you handle
whatever comes up during the session.
■ After the treatment session, information processing may continue, and other
dreams, memories, feelings, etc., may emerge. If this should become too much
for you to handle on your own, you are welcome to call your therapist, who will
help you.
What is an EMDR session like?
In targeting a disturbing memory or situation, an EMDR-trained therapist follows a
well-defined and client-oriented process. First the therapist helps you identify an
image that represents the target memory, a negative belief about yourself, and
the emotions and body sensations associated with the targeted situation or
memory. You are then asked to identify a preferred belief about yourself and to
rate the believability of this new belief while thinking of the disturbing event.
You are asked to bring to mind all the negative information associated with the
problem. You move your eyes back and forth, following the therapist’s moving
hand. In some cases, sounds, hand taps, or other mechanisms are used instead
of eye movements. After each set of eye movements, sounds, or taps, you are
asked to briefly comment on what comes to mind at that point.
The experience of an EMDR session is different for each person. Most people
find EMDR quickly and significantly reduces feelings of disturbance. Research
shows this effect is not due to hypnotic trance or suggestion by the therapist.
Rather, it appears to result from a natural re-balancing in the levels of arousal in
various regions of the brain that lead to spontaneous adaptive shifts in emotion,
body sensation, and associated thoughts. However, sometimes the disturbance
associated with a targeted memory or situation initially increases during
processing as more aspects of the situation emerge.
The therapist supports you during the processing of upsetting material. Should
difficulties arise in processing occasional blockages, the therapist makes clinical
decisions about how to achieve the most positive outcome possible in that
session. A specific traumatic memory or disturbing situation may resolve in as few
as one to three sessions. In some cases, targeted memories or situations may
require more attention when they are connected with prolonged, repetitive, or
early life neglect or abuse.
An EMDR-trained therapist provides a safe psychotherapy process. Before
processing disturbing memories or situations, EMDR is used to develop or
enhance "internal" resources, such as mental "safe/calm places" or skills and
strengths you need to achieve something. When processing disturbing memories,
EMDR is used to process all the information (the thoughts, feelings, sensations,
and coping strategies) associated with the original negative experience to move
you toward resolving the memories in a healthy, adaptive way. This means
reduced distress, increased confidence in yourself, more successful interactions
with others, and better performance at life activities.
Even more about EMDR
Please visit the following web sites or book for even more information:
EMDR International Association:
www.emdria.org
EMDR Institute:
www.emdr.com
EMDR: A Breakthrough Therapy for Overcoming Anxiety, Stress, and Trauma
by Francine Shapiro, Ph.D. & Margot Silk Forrest
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d a n m e t e v i e r, p s y.d.
c l i n i c a l p s y c h o l o g i s t
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| ph: 916.410.9140 ■ 1899 east roseville parkway, suite 100, roseville, california 95661 ■ fax: 916.313.0902 site map ■ privacy policy ■ disclaimer ■ ca license psy19748 ■ copyright 2006-2010 daniel j. metevier |
| This material was adapted from text taken from the EMDR International Association web site: www.emdria.org |
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