Maria Brockman, LMFT

What is EMDR?

Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) is a form of psychotherapy that addresses the traumas that block neural pathways in the brain. These blockages affect our thoughts, feelings, emotions, physical sensations, and beliefs about ourselves. When your mind is stuck on an event or feeling, it continues to use coping skills that may no longer be effective. EMDR targets these traumas in an effort to clear these neural pathways so that the effects of the trauma are diminished or eliminated altogether.

How Does EMDR Work?

When we are upset, our brain cannot process information as it normally does. One incident can become “frozen in time”, and we hold on to those thoughts, feelings, emotions, and ways of coping. Remembering the trauma can feel as bad as going through it all over again. These moments can have a huge impact on how we view and interact with the world.   During our sleep cycle, we enter Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep or “dream sleep”. During this phase, our eyes move in a back-and-forth motion creating bilateral stimulation. This bilateral stimulation allows connections between the right and left hemispheres of our brains to occur, allowing us to process things from our waking life in the form of dreams.   EMDR replicates this bilateral stimulation when we are awake. This is not hypnosis. Instead, the brain is stimulated through alternating tones in the ear, taps on the knees or hands, or tracking light or fingers with your eyes. Because you are awake when you are processing the information, you are able to feel and see things about the traumatic situation that you were not able to before. When processing is done in EMDR, you will still remember the situation—it just won't be as upsetting as it used to be.

How Many Sessions is Treatment?

EMDR usually requires fewer sessions than traditional talk therapy. A history and assessment phase takes place over the course of two to three sessions. Once this has been completed, the processing, or bilateral stimulation, begins. The number of traumatic incidents, as well as the severity of the events, affects the number of sessions needed. The less distressing the trauma or the fewer number of incidents, the faster treatment will be successful. Of course, you may prefer to move at a slower pace, alternating a talk therapy session with an EMDR session. This is not a problem. Your treatment can be tailored to your needs.