Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing For Trauma Control
Author: SuFox Total views: 93 Word Count: 446
Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing is an unwieldy and long name for a new therapeutic modality that is surprisingly fast and easy to make use of.
EMDR was discovered in the late 1980s by and American, Francine Shapiro. It is now used in trauma centres in many countries, with a good deal of research to back up its effectiveness.
What happens in an EMDR session?
The client describes the traumatic memory and is helped to focus on the very worst aspect and the associated feelings and then describes the negative belief they may have internalized as a result.
Let's take a man that had been caught up in a car accident who believed that he should have been more careful. He might be thinking 'I'm an idiot'. The client is then helped by the therapist to frame the belief that this man really wants, which could be something along the lines of 'I do my very best to make sure I'm safe.' These thought and feeling are given ratings on a scale of 1-10.
Holding the memory, the negative thought and the feelings in mind, the client then watches the therapist's hand as she waves it in front of his face for a series of movements, then pauses.
After the client talks about his thoughts, feelings and anything he notices about his body, the hand movements begin again. This scenario is repeated until both therapist and client feel they have reached the end with nothing new arising. Now the original memory is returned to, and the thoughts and feelings are rated again. By doing so an objective measure of change can be witnessed.
In what way does this work?
It seems that the brain fails to process trauma memories in the usual way, and they get stuck in a place (the limbic system) where they are easily triggered. Bilateral stimulation of the brain appears to help these memories shift to the place where ordinary memories are stored (the cerebral cortex), losing their emotional charge on the way.
Clients that have gone through this process say that while the memory of the traumatic event is still there, the really terrifying or unhappy feelings that go with it have disappeared completely, and they feel better in themselves.
Eye movements are the usual way of doing EMDR, but other bilateral stimulation methods can be used, such as tapping alternate hands or knees, or listening to sounds through headphones. It is also very effective with the kinds of core beliefs and patterns that no amount of talking therapy can shift.
For simple traumas like the road traffic accident example, the feelings can be processed in about 6 sessions. Traumas that are more complicated are treated better with an ongoing client/therapist relationship.
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About the Author
Su Fox is an experienced UK psychotherapist and counsellor who can be found at london psychotherapy or london counselling. She is also writer of a book for complementary practitioners: Relating To Clients.
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