Debunking some of the myths of EMDR therapy…
One of the things that I think intimidates people about EMDR (Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is that it’s shrouded in mystery, and has a bit of a reputation for being intense. I get it, and honestly these judgements aren’t entirely incorrect. EMDR is mysteries because clinicians can’t agree on why it works. We have theories that likely hold validity, such as the eye movements that are generated during EMDR mimic the spontaneous eye movements that occur during REM cycle sleep, which help us process events and memories. I’ve heard other professionals state that EMDR helps more of the brain come online and stay online during reprocessing. I’ve also heard that the pure exposure to the traumatic stimulus, with the distraction of rapid eye movements, is enough to reorganize material in people’s brains. I have some of my own theories as to why EMDR works that I’ll likely write about in a future post.
Truthfully, EMDR is intense. I understand why this scares people. But I’d like to debunk some of the myths of EMDR and share my experience as a therapist who provides this service, and as a human who has personally undergone EMDR therapy.
Myth 1- EMDR will retraumatize me.
Truth- EMDR is not designed to retraumatize you. The goal of EMDR is not to re-live what has happened to you; rather the goal is to reprocess traumatic events while maintaining what we call “dual awareness.” They describe this in the training sessions as having “one foot in the past, one foot in the present.” Dual-awareness it the ability to re-visit what has happened to you while also maintaining awareness that you are in the now, with your therapist, in a safe environment. Dual awareness is a metaphorical dance between past and present that allows for enough somatic safety and groundedness for the client to look at the worst things that have happened to them. This allows the brain to re-process the memories while staying stable.
Myth 2- EMDR is too intense
Truth- EMDR is intense but it’s manageable. EMDR is very experiential. It is common to have a big emotional release during reprocessing. You may experience different sensations happening in your body such as trembling, feeling hot or cold, brief sensations of pain, tingling, tightness, etc. I find that most of my clients do report feelings and sensations that are high in intensity, but the activation ebbs and flows during the session. It is rare that I’ve had a client state that they cannot continue and need to stop the process entirely.
Myth 3- EMDR is pseudoscience
Truth- EMDR has been studied and proven to be a highly effective way of processing past trauma. EMDR is not very new in the field, it has been around since the 80s. The method has been fine-tuned over the last several decades and the applications for EMDR have evolved well beyond treating traumatic memories. Some of the things I have treated using EMDR for in my clinical practice include phobias, chronic pain, obsessive compulsive disorders, grief, addictions, and anxiety. EMDR is an evidence based practice that has undergone clinical trails and proven to be more effective than other forms of treatment such as Cognitive behavioral therapy. For more information check out this research article:
