What is Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR)?

EMDR was accidentally discovered by the Psychologist Francine Shapiro in 1987. As she was walking through the forest looking around here she noticed that she was beginning to think through old events. She attributed her eye movements from the left to the right as triggering the reprocessing and went on to experiment and develop the therapy.

Since this time EMDR has been used to heal the most traumatic situations that humans can experience. Combat trauma, assault, life changing accidents are all reduced to regular memories. They may never feel “good,” but they no longer feel upsetting.

This is because EMDR triggers both hemispheres of the brain (left> logical reasoning & right> creativity & emotions) at the same time, helping deeply emotional and somatic memories get accessed, unblocked and digested.

A common example I use is overstuffing a closet. Before reprocessing, every time you open the closet (get triggered) everything comes flying out. EMDR helps you open the closet and organize the shelves, creating understanding and moving through discomfort. Then your “closet” is now organized, you can see what is there, it is no longer upsetting and doesn’t come flying out at you when opened.

EMDR can be performed with eye movements, hand buzzers, tapping or audio files.

I often refer to EMDR as ‘problem solving for your brain.’ The bilateral stimulation triggers your brain to find a new neural pathway.

EMDR is remarkably effective. Major events can be cleared in just a few hours. One metaphor : before EMDR the memory or target is playing on a TV at full volume very close to you. After EMDR the memory is playing on a tiny TV in the corner, in black and white, on mute. It is still there, but no longer affects you. For complex traumas more than 1 session or target may be necessary.

In your session we develop a target consisting of 1) a visual representation of the target, 2) your belief about yourself during or since the target, 3) your emotions and 4) where you feel them. We then apply the bilateral stimulation for 1-3 minutes, and then discuss the content. We repeat this process until the conclusion of the session, while measuring its impact on the target as we go.