Recently, there has been a lot of buzz about Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR. It seems that every day there are more people reaching out to learn about and receive therapy supplemented with this technique. For example, just this week, ABC News reported on how a police precinct used EMDR to help their officers deal with trauma they experienced or witnessed while on duty. In an effort called “Operation Restore,” the officers described it as “the best thing they’ve ever done for their careers and their lives.”
But what is EMDR, and how is it different from straight talk therapy? EMDR is a therapeutic technique specially trained therapists use to make shifts in present-day responses and states of being, like anxiety, panic, distress, depression, and fear. Rapid eye movement or alternate bilateral (tactile or auditory) stimuli are used to access the brain’s system of information processing. This then allows the brain to process old, disturbing experiences in a new way, resulting in improved emotional responses. Improved responses to emotionally distressing experiences can create a sense of relief, freedom, and joy in everyday living.
EDMR can improve a client’s daily life by desensitizing him or her to present-day emotional states that are disturbing, yet related to past distressing experiences. By reprocessing old memories, clients can learn to see distressing experiences from a new perspective, improving the way related emotions are experienced and expressed in the present day. During distressing events, the brain shuts off its emotional center, which traps parts of the memory without being fully processed by the “thinking brain” like normal events. EMDR helps clients move this trapped memory into the language-based area of the brain, resulting in a sense of relief about the original issue or incident that is being processed.
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