Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): What is It? How Does it Work?

When I tell you about EMDR, it may sound a little “out there”. I actually thought so myself when I first heard about it. Because of that, I sought out an EMDR counselor for myself.

So today, I’m speaking to you as someone who has had success with EMDR treatment, both as a counselor and a client.

How We Normally Process Our Day

We know that we process our day during REM sleep. That's the stage of sleep, where your eyes move back and forth quickly.

If I asked you what you had for dinner three nights ago, go ahead, try it. What did you have for dinner three nights ago? You will notice that you move your eyes to recall that information.

EMDR uses what our bodies naturally do to process trauma.

Bilateral Stimulation

With EMDR, we use bilateral stimulation of your brain. A counselor might use eye movement, tapping or alternating sounds to achieve this bilateral stimulation.

Trauma tends to be stored in a part of your brain that creates the thoughts and feelings of being right back in the time and space of a traumatic event.

How EMDR Helps

EMDR helps you move that event to the part of your brain where most memories are stored. You will still have the memory, but you lose the thoughts, emotions, and even the body sensations that those memories hold for you now.

Interested in using EMDR to help process your painful memories? We can help.