What is EMDR?
EMDR was founded in 1987 by Francine Shapiro and is based on what she described as a “chance discovery." While walking in the woods one day she noticed that disturbing thoughts suddenly disappeared after moving her eyes quickly from side to side. After repeated experiments she noticed that any negative emotions subsided after she darted her eyes back and forth and each time the thoughts were not as upsetting or vivid as the time before.
She tried it out on friends, colleagues and eventually clients and continued to have the same positive results. She began using this method on veterans with PTSD and trauma and discovered that the treatment worked well in reducing the symptoms of PTSD. Further studies indicated that EMDR could be successful with a wide variety of issues including anxiety, depression, grief, loss and phobias. She later named this treatment EMDR and since then EMDR has been used to treat millions of people worldwide.
EMDR Canada defines EMDR as “an integrative psychotherapy approach that has been extensively researched and proven effective for the treatment of trauma and many other mental health problems that utilizes bilateral eye stimulation or somatic responding.”
How Does EMDR Therapy Work?
Shapiro said in her book, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing “Disturbing thoughts generally have a certain “loop” to them, that is, they tend to play themselves over and over until you consciously do something to stop or change them” (Shapiro, pg. 7.) It is almost like the memory or thought gets locked into place and just replays continuously like a broken record.
Some people re-live a scene or a bad memory over and over and it feels like it is simply stuck or will never end. EMDR seems to be able to intervene in the “looping” and unlock the disturbing or traumatic memories and emotions. It helps the brain to process all the information, memories, feelings and beliefs that are associated with the loop and move to a less disturbing and less stressful state. We still have the memory but the pain or emotion attached to it is no longer present.
Another way to look at it which helps to understand it is that sometimes events occur that are simply too painful or too overwhelming or we were too young and the brain goes into overload and cannot process the event like we would be able to do if it were a non painful event. So the memory is stored in its unprocessed or raw form complete “with all the sights, smells, voices, feelings, thoughts and body sensations from the time it happened” (Shapiro pg. 19.) Memories in their raw form stay stuck, can loop for years and can easily be triggered by similar sounds, voices, people etc. that continue the looping process and individuals will replay and relive the event over and over. Until there is an intervention the memory will stay in its raw form.
"Our trapped emotions, traumas, anxieties, and unprocessed life experiences stay in our nervous system and body memories and are the source of everything that ails us." ― Maya Christobel
What Can EMDR Be Used For?
EMDR has been successfully used to treat:
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PTSD
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Anxiety and panic attacks
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Depression
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OCD
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Anger
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Experienced or witnessed violence
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Past or childhood abuse issues
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Experienced or witnessed natural disasters such a hurricanes, tornados, floods, fire
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Motor vehicle, boat or motorcycle accident
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Grief and loss (through divorce, death, being fired, etc.)
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Traumatic memories experienced by a first responder or front-line worker
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Phobias such as fear of flying, fear of spiders, etc.
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Life-threatening events or illness.
What Happens In An Edmonton EMDR Session?
EMDR is an eight phase treatment that begins with a thorough history taking followed by a preparation phase. The client is properly prepared before tackling the disturbing memory or event. The next phase is called the assessment phase whereby we develop the treatment plan or blueprint for EMDR work, identifying the targets for processing i.e. the disturbing memory, incident or event.
You will be asked specific questions about the distressing or disturbing memory, event or incident. With the guidance of me as your EMDR therapist, you bring up a traumatic incident, event or memory along with your feelings and beliefs about that incident while moving your eyes back and forth. As your therapist, I will assist you with this by asking you to watch my fingers back and forth in front of your visual field. This is performed in multiple sets and you will report back what you notice and observe. You will likely notice changes in your thoughts, feelings, images and body sensations.
Eventually the trauma, painful memory or incident and accompanying feelings begin to subside. The intensity reduces and the memory becomes a memory without its painful emotional association. It is often replaced with feelings of calm, peace, confidence or empowerment. The end results vary but the subsiding of negative feelings is generally consistent.
Other points:
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The BLS (Bilateral stimulation) which was achieved at first with just rapid eye movements can also be achieved by a light bar, Thera Tappers (hand held buzzies) or tapping. I use all these methods and will introduce all methods to you if we embark on an EMDR journey.
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There is nothing magic about EMDR even though results sometimes tend to feel magical. It still requires you to put in the work and will require you to feel the strong disturbing feelings and thoughts that will accompany your memory for a short time while we are doing the BLS. The exception to this is the Flash technique described below where you do not have to experience the traumatic memory in order to process the memory and the DeTUR technique described below where we just work on triggers.
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EMDR doesn’t work for everyone.
My EMDR Training & Specialization
I was first introduced to EMDR when I was trained in EMDR Standard Protocol Level one and two in 2015 via The British Columbia School of Professional Psychology.
Since then I have made EMDR a priority in my practice and studied several other EMDR protocols. Like other modalities EMDR has grown and evolved over the years, achieving better and better results since it was first founded in 1987 and now has specific protocols for a variety of specializations.
I have additional training in the following EMDR protocols:
Attachment-Focused EMDR (Laura Parnell)
Parnell uses a modified and extended EMDR approach in working with adults who have experienced trauma, childhood physical or sexual abuse, neglect, maltreatment and/ or abandonment as children, early losses, birth trauma and parental substance abuse.
Clients with these experiences often experience depression, anxiety, co-dependency, PTSD, problems with relationships such as abusive, addictive or violent partners, trust issues, abandonment issues, inability to develop close relationships, intimacy issues or other relationship difficulties.
This can manifest not just with partners but also with friends and co-workers. Clients with these experiences also often experience attachment wounds and Parnell adapted EMDR to include an “attachment repair orientation.”
It is a client centered approach that includes additional resourcing to strengthen resiliency to be able to handle the emotionally traumatic childhood memories. It utilizes EMDR standard protocol to process the trauma as well as traditional talk therapy to help the client process and integrate all that they are experiencing.
The Flash Technique (Phil Manfield)
The Flash Technique recently developed by Phil Manfield, is an intervention for reducing the level of disturbance connected with re-occurring traumatic, disturbing or distressing memories that an individual is re-living over and over.
It is similar to EMDR in that it utilizes eye movements or tapping and its purpose is to help the client resolve unprocessed traumatic, disturbing or distressing memories in the brain. It differs from standard protocol EMDR and other traditional trauma therapies in that Flash Technique does not require the client to consciously focus on, re-live or engage with the traumatic memory. The client is able to process the traumatic or disturbing memories without feeling distress or negative emotion.
Flash Technique can be used as part of the preparation phase in EMDR Standard Protocol by reducing the intensity of the traumatic memory, can be used in combination with EMDR or as a stand-alone intervention. While Flash can be used for a wide variety of issues it is ideal for recent re-occurring events that the client re-lives or replays over and over.
DeTUR (Desensitization of Triggers and
Urge Reprocessing) Protocol (Popky)
DeTUR is a new approach working with addiction triggers and other dysfunctional behavioral issues:
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Substances: alcohol, marijuana, nicotine, stimulants (cocaine, crack, methamphetamine), opiates (heroin/methadone)
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Behavioral addictions such as gambling, shoplifting, binge eating or internet
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Anger outbursts/issues, rage
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Body focused repetitive behaviors such as skin or face picking, trichotillomania (hair pulling) nail biting, cutting
NOTE: This protocol is part of a comprehensive treatment plan. The client is assessed for readiness i.e. must be detoxed first, if on medications needs to be stabilized or assessed for need for psychiatric care and has adequate supports in place. This protocol is NOT a replacement for detox, treatment or psychiatric care.
DeTUR focuses on creating a positive mind and body state with a goal of coping and functioning and the client is directed towards this state as opposed to away from the negative behavior. Triggers are processed as opposed to traumatic or disturbing memories. Present and future are the focus and not the past. We don’t use the word “relapse” and instead focus on “targets of opportunity” with coping and positive, achievable functioning as the goal.
Belief Focused Approach to EMDR
(Roy Kiessling)
Belief Focused EMDR uses EMDR standard protocol with an emphasis on core beliefs rather than cognitions. Beliefs are driven by emotions and body sensations and determine our perceptions, attitudes, behaviors and choices. Core beliefs also determine how clients process their traumatic memories. Cognition is “what does this say about you?” A core belief is “what does this mean about you”? Core beliefs are deeper and most often originate in childhood or infancy, so working with core beliefs in the EMDR process will get to the deeper issues and accelerate healing.
Pre-Verbal Trauma – When There are No Words - Reprocessing Early Childhood Neglect and Trauma in Implicit Memory with EMDR (Katie O’Shea)
Also called The Early Trauma Protocol, this protocol uses EMDR standard protocol with adaptations to process very early trauma (pre-verbal) held in implicit memory. Our earliest memories from birth to age two or three are often called implicit which we are unable to recall or are unconscious. Therefore pre-verbal trauma memories are often implicit which can act like invisible forces impacting our behaviors, choices, relationships etc. This protocol can be used for early developmental trauma, womb trauma, birth trauma, early hospitalization and any other pre-verbal traumatic events and experiences.