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Individuals often go through traumatic or distressing events in their life. While the journey to recover from these life-altering events is easy for some, others struggle throughout the healing process. There’s no particular technique that may be helpful for everyone, but most people seek therapy when they experience something emotionally overwhelming. Some forms of psychotherapies commonly used include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Exposure Therapy. A relatively newer technique that has undergone trials is called Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. We will discuss this therapy form in detail in this article.
What Is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR Therapy involves using the movement of your eyes in a specific manner as you process traumatic memories. The main aim is to enable recovery from trauma, but EMDR Therapy does not involve discussing the distressing event in detail; instead, it focuses on changing emotions and behaviors that prevent your healing.
EMDR therapy can be used to help people of all ages who are suffering from mental health conditions. It is most commonly used in cases of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Patients with disorders like Anorexia can also benefit from this therapy.
The Theory Behind EMDR Therapy
EMDR Therapy uses the Adaptive Information Processing model that focuses on how our brains store different memories. Francine Shapiro, Ph.D., states in her theory that our brains store traumatic and everyday memories differently. The brain stores typical memories smoothly and networks them in a manner that connects them to other things you remember. During distressing events, the brain can’t do so, and networking is disturbed, generating a disconnect between what we feel and what our brain stores in memory through language. As your brain never understands that the traumatic experience is over, you cannot heal healthily from the trauma.
With EMDR therapy, you access memories of a traumatic experience using a combination of eye movements and instructions, which enables reprocessing the experience. This can help you recover from your psychological injury and understand that you can manage feelings brought upon by recalling traumatic experiences. You will also no longer feel like you’re reliving your traumatic experiences whenever you try to recall specific incidents.
How Can You Learn EMDR Therapy?
You can enroll in online or in-person EMDR training programs that teach a combination of theory lectures, in-class practice activities, and on-job practice with clients. Most training programs are flexible regarding the time and location you choose for taking your sessions.
After completing this training, you can identify and prepare your clients for EMDR Therapy, conduct sessions independently, and use EMDR for clients experiencing trauma-related problems. You will also be able to find ways to incorporate EMDR into a trauma-informed treatment approach for clients. Another learning outcome of the training program is to learn problem-solving through EMDR in instances where no other therapy approach is working.
Endnote
EMDR therapy is a relatively newer psychotherapy technique that specifically focuses on the recovery of patients that have experienced traumatic events. The technique uses the Adaptive Information Processing model, which focuses on using specific eye movements and guided instructions that allow your brain to access traumatic memories in a specific manner.
As your brain reprocesses the traumatic memory, it can help manage the negative feelings you associate with those incidents. At the end of the EMDR training, you will be able to identify clients suitable for the therapy and conduct sessions independently to help clients with trauma-related mental health problems.