EMDR Therapy
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) can be used to process trauma, hurtful memories, to help with depression, to help with addictions, performance issues and many other things.
“So, you take these buzzers, and you hold on to them in your hand. I tell you to think of the picture, and I want you to focus on it. Eventually, I will turn off the buzzers and ask you, ‘what did you get?’”
Huh?
What kind of weird voodoo shit is this?
You’re going to shock me?!
How will I know if I’m doing this right?
Do I even want to try this?
It sounds bizarre.
There is a lot of stigma about EMDR Therapy
People don’t really understand what it is and, frankly, it sounds weird.
So, let me tell you some technical boring stuff. EMDR has been around since the late 1980s. It has been studied a lot and is considered a “Best Practice,” by Veteran’s Affairs (that’s a good thing, because it means that the studies validate that it does work).
Originally, it focused on eye movement to induce bilateral brain stimulation, which makes memories easier to process. Now practitioners use eye movements, tapping on the knee, boards that have displays to make your eyes move, listening to tones that play in one ear and then the other, and my favorite, the buzzer. The buzzer doesn’t shock you. It’s like holding a tiny little cell phone that’s on vibrate in your hands.
I like to use EMDR to help process trauma, hurtful memories and anxiety
When processing these things through EMDR, I ask the client to imagine that they’re on a train. They are safe on the train and outside the windows they can see the trauma, or hurtful memories; but they are not in the memories outside, they are safe in the train, just watching them go by. This helps to keep people from feeling overwhelmed thinking about the memory.
The really weird and fascinating thing about EMDR therapy is that whatever your brain thinks, is right. Many struggle with this, because they don’t see the connection between what they are thinking, and what they think they should be thinking. The most common complaint I hear is, “I don’t think I’m doing this right.” There is no right or wrong way to think during EMDR. Your brain is in control and thinking about what it needs to think about to heal.
Did you know that EMDR therapists go through EMDR therapy in the process of training? It’s true. So, you can ask me about the experience, and I’ll tell you what it’s like to be on the receiving end of the buzzers.
One of the things (besides no homework) that people like about EMDR is that it tends to work more quickly than talk therapy, and you only need to tell your therapist what you want. You don’t need to share everything that went through your brain with your therapist, just the gist of it.
Do some people start the process, and decide it’s not what they want? Sure, you can change your mind at any time. You are the one controlling the session.
FAQ
- EMDR therapy is not hypnosis.
- You will not do anything during the course of EMDR therapy that you don’t want to do.
- You will have a safe word to stop the EMDR therapy session if you’re feeling overwhelmed.
- Therapists who provide EMDR therapy have to go through four days of intensive training and months of consultation with someone who has years of experience doing EMDR therapy.
Want to learn more? Read about EMDR therapy that I provide. You can also check out EMDRIA’s website, or watch EMDR sessions on You Tube. Here’s one where the client is using several different forms of bilateral stimulation. It’s pretty true to what happens in the beginning of a session.
Not so scary now, is it?
Wishing you all peace, happiness, and serenity,
Mechele