Whether from childhood or adulthood, during pregnancy, birth, or from postpartum depression and anxiety, or from a recent loss, we all have issues we wish would stop following us around and triggering us. Lately, several moms have asked me about working on past trauma, so I want to share a little bit about EMDR and how transformative it can be.
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro, is a research-supported, integrative psychotherapy approach designed to treat symptoms of trauma and posttraumatic stress. EMDR sessions follow a specific sequence of phases, and practitioners use bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements, taps, or sounds, to help the client process unresolved memories from adverse experiences. EMDR can be used to address any number of concerns, and it is compatible with other types of therapy.
The way Dr. Shapiro describes it is fascinating:
“When a disturbing event occurs, it can get locked in the brain with the original picture, sounds, thoughts, feelings and body sensations. EMDR stimulates the information and allows the brain to reprocess the experience. That may be what is happening in REM or dream sleep—the eye movements help to reprocess the associated material. It is your own brain that will be doing the healing and you are the one in control.”
Bilateral tones or tactile stimulation can have the same effect for people who can’t or don’t want to do the eye movements, and you don’t need to talk about the experience to reprocess it.
EMDR has been accepted as a the frontline form of treatment for PTSD by the World Health Organization and the Department of Veteran’s Affairs. Studies show that it is possible to alleviate emotional and physical distress more rapidly with EMDR than with traditional psychotherapy alone. Trauma symptoms were eliminated for 100% of people who had experienced a single traumatic event and for 77% who had experienced multiple traumas after six 50-minute sessions. Because discussing the details of a traumatic experience is not required in EMDR sessions, the anxiety associated with confronting and revealing those details may be alleviated. Research has also indicated that eye movement is a physiological method of internal desensitization to the emotional reaction to the memory.
EMDR has been found to be deeply healing for parents who have experienced the pain of pregnancy loss, birth trauma, or perinatal mood disorders. Since EMDR begins with teaching self-calming tools–such as the safe/calm place, deep breathing, and visualization techniques–many people are able to process and let go of the trauma they’ve experienced to some degree before even starting with the eye movement reprocessing.
The best way I can describe it from personal and professional experience is that it softens the memory of the traumatic event so that it is less vivid, sharp, intense, or distressing. While it doesn’t erase the memory–and we wouldn’t want that because it is part of our life story that makes us who we are, and makes us stronger in many ways–it does make the memory more fuzzy, distant, and we are able to appropriately respond, rather than feel triggered. It is amazing to see the brain release the memories and file them away, healing itself with its innate capacity to do so.
More posts about some of the calming techniques to come! And for the Dads who experience vicarious trauma, here’s a website geared towards them that they can check out, too!
References:
- Lee, Gale K, R.N., M.N., Beaton, Randal D, PhD, E.M.T., & Ensign, Josephine, R.N., PhD. (2003). Eye movement desensitization & reprocessing. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing & Mental Health Services, 41(6), 22-31. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/225537073?accountid=1229
- Shapiro, F., & Laliotis, D. (2011). EMDR and the adaptive information processing model: Integrative treatment and case conceptualization. Clinical Social Work Journal, 39(2), 191-200. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10615-010-0300-7
- Seidler, G.H. and Wagner, F. E. (2006). Comparing the efficacy of EMDR and trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy in the treatment of PTSD: A meta-analytic study. Psychological Medicine, 36(11), 1515-22. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/204490302?accountid=1229