EMDR Therapy: Overcoming Trauma
- Yolanda DeLoach BSN, RN
- Jul 12
- 3 min read
EMDR therapy stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. This therapy was developed in the 1980’s and has been recognized by the World Health Organization as an evidence-based, effective treatment for the recovery of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
How EMDR works
During normal events, the brain is efficient and smoothly stores memories. But traumatic or distressing events interrupt that process and the memory isn’t stored properly. This causes the brain to believe that it is still experiencing the event which affects one’s present quality of life.
EMDR helps the brain reprocess, properly store and heal traumatic memories. These can either be memories from major one time events such as an accident, assault, natural disaster, or war events.
Trauma can also occur over time with repeated negative experiences. This can occur in family systems that lack empathy or neglect a child’s emotional needs. This kind of trauma is called Complex Trauma, because it’s the accumulative effects of micro-aggressions over time. EMDR has also been successful in treating complex trauma.
These past distressing events, whether one time or accumulative, continue to cause stress in the person’s life because the memory has not been adequately processed. Unprocessed traumatic memories can present with symptoms such as anxiety, depression, addiction or chronic pain. The goal of EMDR is to change the way the memory is stored in the brain in order to bring the person relief in the present.
Bilateral (meaning both sides) stimulation is used during EMDR as the person focuses on the emotions, thoughts and beliefs that occurred during the time of the trauma. During the therapy session, the person recalls the memory while engaging in eye movements such as watching a dot move back and forth on a screen or holding hand buzzers that alternately vibrate. Focusing on the memory while experiencing the bilateral stimulation, causes the brain to reprocess and properly store the memory so that healing can occur.
Healing will look like freedom in the present from the past distressing event. Remembering the event will no longer feel like reliving it and the emotions tied to it will not be overwhelming.
What to expect during an EMDR session
A typical EMDR session will take 60-90 minutes. The amount of sessions needed will be unique to each person. A therapist will go over your history and together you will form a treatment plan with desired goals. The therapy has the following components:
Identifying past distressing memories that are causing the problem
Identify the present problem (anxiety, anger, depression, eating disorders, etc.)
Identify skills and behaviors needed in moving forward
After focusing on the distressing memory during the bilateral stimulation, the therapist will ask how you feel, what thoughts arise and any body sensations you notice. As the therapy continues, you will be asked about positive beliefs that you would like formed as the memory is reprocessed.
Advantages of EMDR
EMDR is proven to work. There has been extensive research on its effectiveness.
It doesn’t involve work outside of the therapy session. There is no journaling or reading needed to successfully benefit from EMDR.
There is no need to talk about the trauma in detail.
EMDR often brings relief quicker than other forms of therapy.
Risks of EMDR
Emotional overwhelm: one can experience sadness, grief, anger or fear when revisiting memories.
Increased distress: current feelings of anxiety or depression could be exacerbated as the brain reprocesses and begins healing.
Nausea and dizziness due to intense emotions.
Headache or fatigue from the amount of mental and emotional energy that goes into EMDR.
My Experience with EMDR
While in my forties, I received EMDR therapy for an event that occurred in my teens. This had haunted me for decades and was always in the back of my mind. The therapy worked. I was able to close that chapter of my life and leave it in the past. Thoughts about the event were no longer distressing.
In my 50’s, I’ve come to understand that I experienced complex trauma from the effects of being raised in a narcissistic family system that caused attachment disruptions and lacked empathy. The EMDR therapy has been slightly different for this as the trauma is not from one event. During therapy there is a lot of focus on emotions, beliefs and body sensations. We then follow up on what arises and continue the therapy from there.
The goal with EMDR is to help those suffering from PTSD or complex trauma be able to live free from distressing symptoms, gain more emotional awareness and lean into self-compassion.
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