EMDR for Trauma

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapeutic process originated and developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro in 1988.

EMDR is a method that brings together elements from major clinical theoretical orientations including psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioral, and body-centered approaches. The EMDR protocol combines these modalities into a single healing approach. It combines thought (cognition), emotion, behavior, the physical sensation and the location of that sensation in the body along with bilateral stimulation, which seems to produce an accelerated healing. The protocol seems to allow the brain to access the neural network where the dysfunctional information is stored. Different areas of the brain control each of these parts (cognition, emotion, and physical sensation). The bilateral stimulation seems to bring them together at the same time, which may help account for the speed of the processing.

For single incident traumas, EMDR can often be very effective in just one to three sessions. For example, I saw an individual who had been in a major car wreck and was suffering feelings of anxiety at the thought of driving and panic when she neared the place of the accident. The anxiety and panic were cleared in two sessions and she has been able to drive again without any further symptoms.

In situations where the trauma is ongoing (such as in cases of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse), treatment time may be longer due to how the individual's ability to cope with emotional distress was effected. Often, the body's natural ability to dissociate is used when a person is experiencing trauma. Because the trauma had to be endured for a length of time, the brain and body grow accustomed to dissociating whenever the experience is triggered. These individuals have to re-learn how to stay in their bodies before EMDR will be effective.