How Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) Can Help Heal Your Mind
If you often find yourself dwelling on the bad than the good in life, you are not alone. Many researchers have shown that adult human brains have a tendency to give more importance to negative emotions and experiences than positive. Referred to as the negativity bias, our brain registers and engages with negative information far moreso that it can learn from it. This contributes to our understanding of the world around us.
This natural disposition is the reason why:
you might recall insults more than praises
bad first impressions are so difficult to defeat
and reactions to negative events are stronger than positive events.
Hence, we are vulnerable to accumulating a lot of negativities as life passes by, with our enhanced focus on experiences or thoughts that disturb or hurt us. This is where EMDR can come in and help heal your mind from difficult memories.
What is EMDR?
This psychotherapy method was invented and developed in the late 1980s by Dr. Francine Shapiro. She also came up with a hypothetical information processing model of learning called the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP), which provides the theoretical framework and principles for EMDR therapy.
Initially made for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), this process encourages the individual to briefly focus on the negative/traumatic memory/thought, while experiencing bilateral stimulation at the same time. The impact of the disconcerting memory/thought on the individual decreases as the treatment progresses and even though results vary from person-to-person, it alleviates symptoms of emotional and mental distress like headaches, fatigue, and despondency in a short span of time.
EMDR is ideal for those who are struggling with trauma, PTSD, or mental blocks of any kind as it gradually startsto transform and heal these issues with its repeated sessions. Rhythmic, back-and-forth visual and audio aids used by the therapist such as alternating tones via headphones or hand taps engage the person in an external stimulus, while the individual engages with their negative/traumatic memory/thought internally at the same time.
The individual’s information processing system of the brain disassociates the fear, shame, helplessness, and pain attached to that memory/thought, thus improving their mental well-being. EMDR therapy works on the belief that the brain naturally moves towards healing itself, if given the opportunity, and it is this potential of the brain that EMDR has been formulated to tap into. EMDR is a growing field of research and recognized as an effective form of treatment for trauma and other distressing experiences by organizations such as the American Psychiatric Association, the World Health Organization, as well as the United States Department of Defense.
The Benefits of EMDR
Unlike other treatments like talk therapy, where the aim is to alter the response to the negative memory/thought, EMDR therapy directly targets the memory/thought itself. The intension is to alter the way that negative memory/thought is stored in the brain, so that the resulting symptoms can be minimised and ultimately eliminated.
EMDR provides the individual with insights that are a result of their own accelerated emotional and intellectual processes, and they do not have to depend a lot on the interpretations of the therapist as such. Hence, individuals feel truly empowered from within post their completion of EMDR therapy. The very experience that once caused them discomfort, humiliation, and pain no longer has a hold on the individual’s behavior, feelings, or thoughts as it did before.
It is also a non-invasive process of facilitating healing, where the individual does not have to actively undergo the turmoil of reliving their negative/traumatic memory/thought. The bilateral eye movements facilitate a more passive processingof the memory/thought, making it easier for the individual to replace trauma-related negative beliefs with more accurate, positive ones.
EMDR therapy has also proven to be effective for dealing with various other mental health concerns such as addictions, depression, grief, and eating disorders (especially if these issues are a result of extreme life experiences or trauma).
The Stages of EMDR
EMDR therapy utilizes the concept of time in an integrated manner. Drawing from the past, it focuses on the present with emphasis on a brighter, positive future. The treatment is structured in eight phases, which are as follows:
Phase 1: History-taking and creating a treatment plan.
Phase 2: Preparing the individual.
Phase 3: Assessing the target memory.
Phases 4-7: Processing the memory to adaptive resolution.
Phase 8: Evaluating the treatment results.
So, if you or someone you know feel burdened with negativity, or have failed to get desired results from other psychotherapy approaches in the past, or have reached stagnation in your current therapy, then EMDR can be an appropriate option to explore. However, choosing a certified therapist is extremely important as they are trained to systematically guide you through the properprotocols and procedures of EMDR therapy to help activate your natural healing processes. Feel free to contact us for any further inquiries regarding EMDR therapy and take the next step of your mental health journey with confidence.
There are a number of us at Panorama Wellness Group who provide EMDR therapy in person or online and we would be happy help you move forward in your life through EMDR. Book an appointment today through our contact page.
