Trauma Healing and EMDR
Trauma Healing and EMDR
In a previous blog I wrote about naming traumas big and small. In my experience, this is the first step in trauma healing. What comes next depends on individual experiences, challenges and strengths. In this blog, I’ll talk a bit about my approach to supporting clients in their trauma recovery, specifically using EMDR.
Not all trauma results in PTSD, but trauma, big or small, can have a lasting impact on the way we live our lives. For some, trauma can result in growth or adaptation. The experience of post-traumatic growth is also known as resilience. For some, it can be as simple as experience a difficult thing, growing and learning from it, and getting on with life. For others it may result in more disruptive patterns of persistent mental health conditions, chronic health issues, or high levels of stress. Symptoms and triggers might change and shift throughout a person’s life. There are a lot variables!
In my practice, I find that most people with a history of trauma have developed both challenges and strengths because of their traumatic experiences. I like to normalize there is not a one-size-fits all way of addressing and healing trauma. With all my clients hoping to heal from trauma, my priority is to establish a baseline level of safety and understanding. Because I believe that there is not a linear path to healing trauma and there is often no magical cure, I like to have a variety of tools and resources to support clients. One of those tools is EMDR.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is therapeutic modality that was first developed to treat PTSD in war veterans. Over time, numerous studies have found it to be an effective treatment for PTSD, and increasingly other mental health concerns including depression and anxiety. EMDR is a structured treatment in which a trained therapist supports a client in focusing briefly on a traumatic memory or experience while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation. Bilateral stimulation (BLS) is often conducted with eye movements—for example a therapist passing their hand back and forth in a participants range of vision, or using a light bar that flashes from left to right—tapping (which I primarily use in my practice), or sensory BLS—such as hand held buzzers, or even passing a ball back and forth.
EMDR is different than talk therapy, and many EMDR practitioners will say that it is “brain therapy,” because it is believed that the BLS aspect of the treatment promotes neuroplasticity—or more plainly put, makes the brain more flexible and adaptive to change. Many participants in EMDR appreciate that don’t have to share aloud every detail of a traumatic experience, there is some level of privacy, while often still being effective in addressing disruptive or intrusive thoughts.
In my personal and professional experience, EMDR does not erase painful experiences or memories, but it reduces the intensity of emotional and somatic distress associated with traumatic memories and allows us greater capacity to regulate and respond to our experience. As I always say, there is no “right” way to heal from trauma, but EMDR can be a powerful tool. If you curious to learn more about EMDR and other trauma focused therapies, I invite you to reach out to myself or anyone else on the IJ team to explore possible options.
