What is EMDR and why is EMDR in the news?
In the past year, the abbreviation EMDR has entered the popular consciousness. Although researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) to treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), its recent prominence in the news has made people outside of counseling professionals aware of it. Read below for a quick guide to what EMDR is, why it has been in the news, and whether this evidence-based technique can help you.
What is EMDR?
EMDR is a research-driven therapeutic method to heal traumatic or distressing experiences. It utilizes bilateral alternating stimulation (eye movement repeating from side to side) to facilitate the uncoupling of overwhelming memories or images from painful emotions, injured beliefs, long-held somatic tension, and maladaptive behaviors. In my work with spouses whose partners have betrayed them sexually, the images or memories associated with the acting out can potentially be disconnected from the emotions of anger, sadness, and betrayal. I have watched as clients report that the images that have previously haunted their minds fade into the background and no longer create the escalated response as before.
Another powerful aspect of EMDR is the use of bilateral alternating stimulation to build new truth networks for individuals. A client who was sexually abused as a child and who is reenacting that in their current relationship begins to uncouple the injured belief, “I am worthless,” from the traumatic memory and begins to, perhaps for the first time, feel the truth of their worth as infinite and stable.
Why is EMDR in the news?
In the past few years, there have been a variety of articles lauding how EMDR improved the lives of celebrities. Perhaps, the earliest celebrity EMDR endorsement was from The Good Place star Jameela Jamil. She has used her platform to help normalize mental health struggles. Jameela Jamil has been open about her difficulties with depression, anxiety, and eating disorders, and she has credited EMDR for helping her improve these problems. Jameela has even expressed a desire to become an EMDR therapist because of the good she has received from this evidenced-based modality.
This endorsement came before the world shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic and individuals across the planet felt an increase in anxiety and uncertainty. As many people lost their ability to cope via normal mechanisms, i.e., social interactions or enjoying the outdoors, the stressors became greater. Because of the simplicity of EMDR, many people turned to EMDR at home. This trend was highlighted in an article in The Vogue that describes how EMDR helped one person endure the emotional difficulties of 2020.
Most recently, EMDR has found a celebrity of royal proportions. Prince Harry has recently revealed that he uses EMDR therapy to help heal some of his childhood trauma. This is a powerful reminder that all people regardless of status sometimes need help to overcome trauma. Given his experience losing his mother Princess Diana under traumatically public circumstances and his recent familial struggles, it is understandable that Prince Harry is using EMDR to reprocess painful memories and creating new healthy networks.
How can I try EMDR?
Regardless of if you are trying to reprocess trauma, deal with anxiety, or shed a few pounds, EMDR can help you develop healthier mental states. The best way to try EMDR is to contact an EMDR certified therapist. They will begin the process of healing using EMDR techniques. In this process, they will use tools that create bilateral stimulation like tappers (or pulsers), lightbars, or headphones. These tools help create stimulation on alternating sides of the body.
These EMDR tools have also been packaged in the EMDR Tappers app and can be downloaded for free on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. The EMDR Tappers app will shortly add guided EMDR sessions to create more accessible ways to access EMDR on the move.
Hopefully, you can try to add EMDR to your toolset for developing healthier mental states.
