EMDR Made Simple: A Life Changing Terapy
By Dr. Elizabeth King, EdD, LCSW, CHt
ave you ever heard of EMDR? If you haven’t, and you or someone you love suffer from symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, depression, panic attacks, chronic pain as well as a number of other chronic mental or physi- cal illnesses, you need to find out whether EMDR can help you. The fact is that research has shown the effectiveness of EMDR. As a therapist that uses EMDR almost every day in my practice, I can tell you that I have seen incredible re- sults. For the readers out there that are skeptical because you have tried all sorts of different types of therapies and little or nothing has worked, ask yourself, “What do I have to lose?” Please read on because what you are about to learn from this article may change your life or the life of a loved one.
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What Does EMDR Stand for and Who Developed It? EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Repro- cessing. It was developed in 1987 by psychologist Dr. Francine Shapiro. In 1989, Dr. Shapiro published encouraging results of EMDR therapy for the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disor- der in the “Journal of Traumatic Stress” and received recognition for her work. For the past 20+ years, researchers have been busy applying this technique and achieving incredible results. Cur- rently, EMDR therapy is widely used and accepted worldwide in the treatment of trauma as well as many other conditions.
How and Why Does EMDR Work? Quite honestly, even
researchers have a difficult time explaining how and why EMDR works. At some level it is still a bit of a mystery. But
regardless of its complexity, the end result is that the research has proven that it works. As an EMDR therapist that uses EMDR almost every day in my practice, I concur that EMDR is very effective, especially when combining it with other modalities that address the problem at the core level. In a nutshell, EMDR in-
volves the client focusing on a disturbing image or event while the trained therapist facilitates a rapid, bi-lateral (left to right) eye movement which allows the brain to reprocess and neutral-
ize the emotionality attached to the image or event. Typically, it takes about 3-8 EMDR sessions.
What Happens When You Experience a Traumatic Event?
When you experience a traumatic event, your brain goes into the fight or flight mode to protect you. If the experience is too intense or overwhelming or if you are traumatized repeatedly, your brain may go into a ‘freeze’ mode because it can’t process the experience and successfully let it go. Young children are especially impacted by extreme situations. They just don’t have the neuro-biological capabilities (fight or flight) or the coping skills to help them neutralize an actual or perceived life- threatening situation. Adults may also go into a freeze mode if they experience a traumatic situation, such as a car accident, someone putting a gun to their head, or being raped. Other events that may appear on the surface not to be as traumatic, such as being confronted by a snake in your backyard (when you are deadly afraid of them) or having someone throw a frog at you, or being bullied at school, can also cause trauma, in other words - make the brain go into a freeze mode. The
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