EMDR gets results
Studies show EMDR is more effective over less time than other types of trauma therapy. In a 1989 study, patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experienced notable improvement after only one session of EMDR treatment. After receiving special training I have been using EMDR in my practice with excellent results. While EMDR was developed to treat people with severe trauma I also use it for situations in which talk therapy alone does not seem to clear the underlying stress. EMDR can be used for job stress, relationship stress, school stress, and anger management. It is also widely used in dealing with many other negative feeling such as low self worth, loss, and grief.
What makes EMDR so effective?
EMDR treatment is related to REM sleep, the type of deep sleep wherein eye movements are linked to the processing of memories during the day. For this reason, some people suggest EMDR might be more effective at treating trauma which has happened fairly recently and refers to one incident, like a car accident or instance of rape. However, the 1989 PTSD study suggests that less localized types of trauma can be effectively treated with EMDR and EMDR treatment has only become more and more effective over the years.
The theory behind this method of therapy is that the human brain works through an “adaptive information processing system.” The stored memories, images, feelings and sensations become linked together almost like a computer network. Our “brain computers” work to help us get over bad experiences by making a connection to our stored information that explains away what has happened. However, a traumatic experience acts like a computer virus and messes up our brain’s adaptive abilities. The severity of the negative emotions of someone who has been traumatized make it too hard for the brain to work through the experience.
EMDR is a way of de-bugging that processing system. The effectiveness of EMDR treatment comes from a procedure called “dual stimulation.” A therapist might wave a baton, for example, and have the patient follow it with his eyes, while being exposed to past memories or present or possible future triggers. The bilateral eye movements (or other external stimulus like tones or taps) disrupt the current way the patient’s brain is processing the traumatic experience. This causes the patient to experience new associations, connecting the negative memories in a more adaptive way.
The eye movement part of EMDR makes your brain quickly switch back and forth between the right and left hemispheres, which may have a therapeutic, balancing effect on the brain.
Why has EMDR been shown to be more effective than other modes of therapy in some studies?
EMDR treatment can be very effective because it deals with the patient’s anxiety in a different way 
than many other types of therapy. Exposure therapy, for example, wants the patient to overcome trauma by becoming desensitized to things that trigger her anxiety by being in an anxiety-provoking environment with the therapist. EMDR, on the other hand, works to re-wire the way your brain thinks about bad things instead of just numbing you to them.
The History of EMDR
In 1987, Francine Shapiro, a “Cadre of Expert” at the American Psychological Association and Canadian Psychological Association Joint Initiative on Ethnopolitical Warfare invented a new type of trauma therapy called Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, when she was walking in a park. As she was walking, she noticed the effect her eye movements seemed to have on her bad memories. Moving her eyes appeared to decrease the negative emotions she associated with these memories. By adding in cognitive therapy components, she worked to develop a standard procedure to use in trauma therapy. Based on her work, EMDR has become well established as a recognized and valuable therapeutic option.
If you’re interested in EMDR for yourself or someone you care about, use the Schedule button below to set up a time to talk.
David Shanks, LCSW is a therapist in Carrboro/Chapel Hill
