Sometimes therapy may feel like a stationary bike. You’re pedaling. You’re working really hard. You go to your appointments and you do the workbooks and you fill out the questionnaires, but no matter how hard you work, you never seem to make any progress. Like someone on a stationary bike, you’re building up skills and strength—but every day when you look around, you’re still right where you started.
If you’re looking for a change of scenery, you may need a different kind of bike. Oftentimes, where traditional therapy fails to get results, EMDR proves more effective.
Origins & Effectiveness
EMDR therapy evolved in the 1980s as a way of helping people with PTSD. Therapists quickly discovered that the core mechanics of EMDR make it effective at addressing a wide array of issues. EMDR is built on the Adaptive Information Processing Model, which posits that everyday memories and traumatic experiences are formed and stored differently by the brain.
Over the last several decades, the effectiveness of EMDR therapy has been proven in dozens of clinically controlled, randomized studies, as well as countless therapist’s offices all over the world.
EMDR therapy is unique in that it is both science-based and results-driven. Therapist and client work together collaboratively to reverse engineer negative thoughts & behaviors in their life, trace them back to their root, and heal those wounds where they live—in the body. More specifically, in the brain.
EMDR & Memory
Our brain categorizes and stores memories based in two different ways: explicit (logical and fact-oriented) and implicit (emotional, instinctive). Think of this as the difference between knowing that a hot stovetop might burn you, and remembering the white-hot pain and panic you felt the first time you burned your hand on one.
An explicit memory is something you can access with clinical distance. You know the stovetop is hot to the touch, so you don’t touch it. Implicit memories are tied to the experience itself, however. Sensations, smells, sounds—the pattern of wallpaper or the tone in someone’s voice.
When those emotional memories are triggered by something in our environment, our bodies respond by reliving those experiences. For some, this means reliving the physical experience of a traumatic moment. For others, it means experiencing the emotions attached to that moment—the sense of anxiety and discomfort that came with it.
How Does EMDR Therapy Work?
How Does EMDR Therapy Work?EMDR therapy works via the use of bilateral stimulation, which stimulates the areas of the brain responsible for the storage of emotional memory. This allows people to recall events with greater detail. It also allows the memories to be reprocessed safely and shifted to the sort of storage reserved for everyday memories. If you think of a traumatic memory as a landmine in your brain that could go off whenever something happens to trigger it, think of EMDR as the specialist who comes in and disarms that bomb, then safely sets it off to the side.
The memory remains, but its explosive capacity is removed.
Is EMDR Right for You?
While EMDR can be used to treat a wide variety of issues including substance abuse, depression, low self-esteem, and even creative blocks—it’s best suited for those who have a history of trauma or struggle with anxiety or PTSD. Keep in mind that trauma often looks different in real life than it does in the movies.
We carry the traumas of our childhood all throughout adulthood. Many are quick to bury those painful memories without resolving them. If you’re uncertain whether EMDR is right for you, contact a trained therapist and talk your needs through with them.
Schedule a Consultation
Our past is an important part of who we are, but we don’t have to let it define us. If you’re ready to move on and experience the world in a new way, we’re here to help. Schedule a consultation today to learn more about EMDR or trauma therapy.