What is EMDR Therapy?
Shannon White, LCMHC, RPT
“EMDR Therapy” might seem like a random assortment of letters, but to others it is an amazing treatment that can be used to heal trauma, depression, and anxiety (along with many other mental health issues). The “EMDR”, in EMDR Therapy, stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, which probably still does not mean a lot. To boil it down, any type of trauma can be defined as "a hurt or a wound" and often gets stuck in the amygdala and/or brainstem. The amygdala and/or brainstem are the parts of the brain that hold our “flight, flight, freeze, or fawn” responses. For example, if we are hiking in the woods and see a bear, we instinctively know to run, hide, freeze, or grab a big stick and begin to go into self-defense mode. God gave us this primal reaction to survive various dangers. However, many times when we have had a trauma occur in our lives, we become hypervigilant and often overreact to triggers that remind us of the past trauma(s). For instance, a soldier who has seen devastating events during combat might associate a benign loud noise with a gunshot and may immediately become anxious due to this experience being trapped in their amygdala and/or brainstem. This is where EMDR Therapy can help. Therapists who are trained in EMDR Therapy facilitate dual attention stimulation (DAS) via bilateral stimulation. This means that the client follows the therapist's fingers with their eyes going back and forth left to right. DAS can also be facilitated by tapping the body left to right or having a client hold a device which can vibrate in their hands from left to right and provide the same effect as eye movement. Researchers have found that addressing the trauma via identification of negative beliefs about the self, while partaking in this movement from left to right, the trauma that was stored in the amygdala and/or brainstem is able to move over the corpus callosum (brain-bridge between the left and right hemispheres) to the neocortex. The neocortex is the top-most part of the brain which holds our more rational and logical thoughts, decision-making, and wisdom. Therefore, once the trauma is reprocessed – meaning it moves out of the amygdala and/or brainstem – the brain and body become desensitized to the traumatic experience(s). People will not forget anything they have been through, but their memories of the trauma will no longer hold the emotional charge that often causes problematic symptoms and struggles with daily living.
One of my favorite parts about being a trained EMDR Therapist is that the client does not have to relive the vivid details of the trauma(s). The therapist will help the client identify his/her negative beliefs associated with the trauma, such as "I am to blame; I am insignificant; I am unsafe" and work with them to install positive beliefs to replace those negative cognitions. God has wired our brains so intricately that clients can trust their brains to do the work for them. I often say it is like we are opening an old filing cabinet and organizing the memories, putting them where they need to go in the appropriate files. I continue to be amazed when I am working with a client and using EMDR Therapy. In my experience, relief can happen within a matter of 2-4 sessions, even if the trauma is 20 or more years old. Spiritually, it increases my awe of God in so many ways. The vast majority of trauma involves another person's transgressions, but God is perfect and holy – giving us a way to restore ourselves through Him and with the help EMDR Therapy (regardless of what the other person may have done to us). He is our loving creator who has designed our brains to heal and not be stuck in the emotional darkness that trauma can bring. It is so powerful and an honor to watch healing occur!
