What can you expect in Eye Movement, Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) Sessions?
EMDR is a psychotherapy approach designed for working with distressing or traumatic memories. The theory behind EMDR is that many psychological difficulties are the result of distressing life experiences which have not been stored in memory properly and are said to be unprocessed or blocked. These traumatic memories may need some help to become processed and stored appropriately. EMDR is one way to do this.
What is special about trauma memories?
Normal memories are stored by a part of the brain called the hippocampus.
You can think of the hippocampus as a sort of librarian which catalogues (processes)
events and stores them in the right place. However, some traumatic events (such as
accidents, abuse, disasters, or violence) are so overwhelming that the hippocampus
doesn’t do its job properly. When this happens memories are stored in their raw,
unprocessed, form. These trauma memories are easily triggered, leading them to
replay and cause distress over and again.
What will I be asked to do in an EMDR session?
There are a number of steps to EMDR treatment, but some of the key stages are to:
- Think of a troubling memory, then identify an image of the worst moment of that memory.
- Identify a negative belief about that worst moment (the therapist may ask “what is the worst thing that moment says about you?”).
- Identify emotions and bodily feelings linked to that moment.
- Think about the image & belief while at the same time making left-to-right eye movements (or while paying attention to tapping sensations or sounds that are alternately given from left-to-right).
- To allow your mind to ‘go with’ whatever comes up and just notice what happens.
- This process will be repeated until the memory causes less distress (this may happen in one session, or may take more than one session).
Why do I need to do eye movements or tapping?
In EMDR you are asked to pay attention from one side to another while thinking about your memory. One way to pay attention from left to right is to follow the therapist’s finger as they move it from side-to-side in your line of vision. In alternative versions of EMDR ask you to pay attention to sounds or tapping sensations which occur in sequence from left to right. This side-to-side motion is called bilateral stimulation. It has been found to enhance memory processing and there are a number of theories explaining how it might do this. The important thing is to be able to identify a form of bilateral stimulation that you feel comfortable with.
How to manage distress outside therapy sessions.
Just as positive feelings are available to you, so are negative feelings of old memories stored in your brain. Try to bring up a safe/calm place to help you experience pleasant feelings when you bring up the old disturbing memories.
The brain has stored the disturbing event in a memory network in a way that isolates it and prevents it from connecting with more useful, current information. When EMDR processing begins appropriate connections are made. This is how the distressing and upsetting memories are processed.
Calm breathing strategies
Use calm breathing strategies, breathing in slowly through your nose, pause for a moment and then breath out slowly through your mouth.
Use the power of your imagination.
Imagine doing something or that makes you happy. Close your eyes and take a deep breath and imagine that you’re there. You can then try to use your senses to picture details of the place.
EMDR is an effective treatment for PTSD and other traumatic experiences. Please visit our website at https://www.ictherapies.co.uk for more information and how to book a session.
