The Keys To Understanding What EMDR Therapy Consists Of
If you have ever heard someone say that they are in EMDR therapy (for its acronym in English “Eyes Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing”) and that the “eye movements” are helping them a lot to process and work with what is happening to them, you will have been able to Ask yourself what exactly EMDR therapy is and how it works.
In this short article I tell you a little about the scientific bases that support this model of therapy and How eye movements or “bilateral stimulation” are used as a means through which the mind reprocesses traumatic events or situations, of great emotional charge, experienced as disturbing. This reprocessing manages to reduce or make the ‘abnormal or extreme’ sensitivity to these circumstances disappear (what is called desensitization), allowing the person to live their life free of the pain and discomfort caused by them.
To begin with, it is known that Experiencing a circumstance in a negative way or going through trauma can affect the way in which information is processed. Thus, the perception of this fact is stored with an important emotional charge, depending on the state that was experienced while experiencing the situation, and which can manifest itself in the form of physical and/or psychological symptoms.
In this way, both the sensory information (images, sounds, flavors, etc.) as well as the thoughts, emotions, sensations and beliefs regarding this situation are stored in the memory (physical and psychological) with an intense negative charge and They trigger spontaneously when some current situation activates them, affecting the person’s daily life.
It is precisely in this storage of the traumatic experience where EMDR therapy will have an effect, with the main objective of ensuring that it is experienced in a more adaptive way. EMDR therapy is not a simple eye movement technique following the therapist’s hand; to be able to apply knowledge and have significant benefits certain phases must be followed in the treatment from knowing well the history of the person who consults us to assessing whether this type of therapy is appropriate for the person and what they want to achieve from the treatment.
The parts of the therapeutic process with EMDR
To access the storage of a traumatic experience, the psychotherapist – with the help of the consultant – begins by collect information about your history define the objectives of psychotherapy and establish what are called the ‘targets’ of treatment.
Past or present memories that have given rise to the problem you are suffering from are explored, as well as whether there is a related initial event in the past; In addition, it is tracked what symptoms the person has on a physical and psychological level and if there is any diagnosis. In this way, you identify what triggers the problem in the present and also the skills you can learn to deal with it in the future.
After this first stage, it is essential that the therapist accompany the person through different exercises to check that they are comfortable for them, that they feel safe and that they can start working with bilateral stimulation. This can be done in different ways, such as, for example, moving your eyes from one side to the other horizontally (or diagonally), with light gentle strokes of your hands on the legs, alternating one and the other, or on the upper part of the chest (the so-called ‘butterfly hug’).
Through bilateral stimulation, each specified ‘target’ is worked on. While this is done and the established protocol is followed so that the stimulation performs its function at the brain level, the consulting people normally explain that they see the memory as more distant, they begin to feel better about the situation, thinking differently about themselves and Therefore, the physical sensations associated with the traumatic experience disappear.
This does not mean that the situation generating discomfort or problem is forgotten ; It is still remembered, but in a more distant way, as belonging to the past and being looked at from a more mature and, therefore, more functional perspective.
It should be noted that, in general, during an EMDR session the therapist does not intervene with words so as not to interfere with the reprocessing that the patient is doing while bilateral stimulation is being performed. The essential thing here is the connection of information within the memory and between the memories that is occurring within the consultant and this occurs spontaneously.
Concluding…
Currently there is no complete answer as to why this type of stimulation helps information reprocessing; Research continues to also answer the how. However, EMDR is scientifically supported and recognized for the successful treatment of Trauma and trauma (yes, with a capital T and a small t), including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In this same way, It is known that treatment with EMDR therapy affects different brain areas which seem to play a fundamental role in changing the memory from a more emotional perspective to a more cognitive and integrated one that alleviates the suffering associated with the experience.
If you are going through a bad moment in your life and you want to live a day to day more in line with what you want, working with circumstances that have already passed, but continue to affect you in some way, do not hesitate: contact me. Don’t wait any longer to free yourself and live the life you long for and deserve.
