EMDR Therapy: A Jargon-Free Explanation
By Adam Cage
Maybe you have heard of EMDR or maybe you haven’t. I find that it’s fairly split when I talk about it amongst my peers. So, let me explain it to you the way that I explain it to them - I’ll try to do it in a way that makes sense because goodness knows I’ve had it explained to me enough times with so much jargon that I nearly start feeling dizzy.
The History
EMDR, or “Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing” is a form of therapy that was developed by Francine Shapiro. Her big “moment” of discovery occurred while she was taking a stroll, and realized that the distressing memories in her mind began to dissipate while she moved her eyes side-to-side.
She began incorporating these side-to-side movements into her practice, and, later, developed an entire process for therapists to use. This “finding” was largely considered to be silly and unhelpful by the therapeutic community during its conception, but has grown into one of the most popular and helpful forms of therapy for traumatic memories and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (also known as PTSD), and has an ever-growing body of literature to back it up. Now, there are counselors who specialize as EMDR therapists and treatment plans built around it.
What is it?
EMDR is a form of therapy that uses side-to-side movements (think hands tapping one’s shoulders or legs, eyes moving back and forth, or buzzers buzzing back and forth between each hand) to stimulate the brain. These side-to-side movements have a few purposes - they “tax working memory, elicit an orienting response, and link into the same processes that occur during rapid eye movement sleep” (Shapiro 2014). That all sounds great, but what does that mean for the therapy-goer hoping to feel better?
What can it do for me?
One of the strengths of EMDR is that it does a remarkable job of untangling the memories that have become wired together in a negative way. You may have heard of Hebb’s Axiom: “Neurons that fire together, wire together.” This means that when negative experiences occur in our lives while we experience negative emotions, there are negative neural networks that are created in our brains that can give us that feeling of being “stuck” in our present day.
Those moments of distress in your present life where you think “I feel exactly like I did when I was a kid” may be a negative neural network showing itself off! These types of experiences, memories, and neural networks can be extremely difficult to work through, because they may have been reinforced for years before any therapy began.
Cue in EMDR - side-to-side movements while recalling memories has been shown to allow the brain to process information that has remained unprocessed. This style of processing, when utilized in a safe therapeutic relationship, can help in those moments where mystery abounds.
One shouldn’t be surprised if a common phrase used during EMDR is, “I didn’t even know I remembered that,” or “I didn’t realize what an impact that made on me.” As the memories become clear in one’s mind, the brain is allowed to do its work with those memories. No longer do those memories have to be stuck like in “Groundhog Day,” but now they are free to be felt, understood, and accepted.
Who is it for?
EMDR is traditionally known for assisting those who have experienced trauma in their lives and who are being affected by it in their present circumstances. While this is true, EMDR can be even more than that. I’ll use the umbrella term, “distress,” as the experience that EMDR can be suited for.
This means that EMDR treatment may not only help those who have had traumatic experiences or those living with PTSD, but it can also help process distressing memories or experiences that may contribute to stress at work, anxiety at school, or addiction in one’s life.
EMDR doesn’t erase memories, but it can allow the experiences that have overwhelmed you to turn into what they are: memories. From there, we can look at those memories with more clarity and understanding.
You know that thought in your mind that pops up each time you publicly speak, get into a new relationship, or have the same conversation with your spouse over and over?
Maybe it’s replayed itself enough times in your head that it has become more than a memory or experience you went through - maybe it has become an identity, whether consciously or unconsciously. EMDR, through bilateral stimulation, can help to disentangle those memories that desire to be free from the feedback loop that began as a response to that distress.
What about story?
EMDR is a tool in one’s toolbelt. Neither a hammer nor a saw builds a house, but they do help in the process. In other words, EMDR work is a small part of storywork. I believe EMDR should be used as a way to uncover your story with compassion and gentleness.
It is always important to build a trusting therapeutic relationship - to partner, client, and counselor, in the process of uncovering how the story has impacted your life. With EMDR, there is a new shovel in the mix to help uncover the beauty and tragedy of your story as we treat it with kindness, gentleness, understanding, and care.