How It Works

Unlike many other forms of therapy, EMDR does not require talking about the traumatic event or challenging specific thoughts. Instead, clinicians work with their patients to relive traumatic memories in brief doses, helping them process the trauma in a safe and guided setting. EMDR treatment uses rhythmic eye movements, taps or tones to help people heal from psychological distress and trauma more quickly than traditional methods. It was developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro in the 1980s and research shows that it gives people benefits that used to take much longer to accomplish.

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How Does EMDR Therapy Work?

EMDR therapy involves the use of rapid eye movements (REM) and back-and-forth eye movements to help the brain consolidate memories.

It may also involve thalamo-cortical binding, where eye movements directly impact a region called the thalamus and cause a cascade of cognitive processes that are able to reduce emotional distress. Additionally, structural and functional brain differences may exist in people who respond well to EMDR therapy.

What are the steps in using EMDR therapy?

The process of EMDR therapy typically includes eight steps that are completed over the course of several sessions.

1. Your therapist will ask you about your history, including any trauma or symptoms you have experienced.

2. Once the memories that need to be addressed are identified, they will be arranged in chronological order for review and discussion with your therapist.

3. Your therapist will review your health history and any other related information in order to get a better understanding of where you are in the treatment process, as well as identify any potential barriers to successful treatment outcomes that may need to be addressed during therapy sessions (e.g., trauma memory activation).

4. Your therapist may also ask questions or provide suggestions regarding how best to approach certain topics or memories during sessions in order to maximize progress towards recovery goals with EMDR therapy techniques (e..g., eye movements).

1. The first stage of EMDR therapy involves taking down the client’s past history and determining their willingness to change.

2. A treatment plan is then developed based on this information, which may include disturbing memories, current situations causing emotional distress, relevant incidents from the past and developing specific skills and behaviors to deal with future situations.

3. To address these target areas with EMDR treatment processing, childhood events may be the focus initially, followed by adult stresses later on once insight into the situation has been gained by the client.

4. During this process, your therapist will review your symptoms and health history in order to gain a better understanding of where you are in terms of treatment progress so they can tailor their approach accordingly depending on what needs addressing most urgently or what can wait until later sessions if necessary for logistical reasons such as scheduling conflicts etc.

1. Your therapist will first review your symptoms and health history to get a better understanding of where you are in the treatment process.

2. The goal of phase 3 is to identify and evaluate the memory causing your emotional distress using imagery, cognition, affect, and body sensation related to it.

3. Your therapist will use this information as a starting point to track your progress through EMDR treatments by assessing these diagnostic scales for each session conducted with you.

1. The client identifies a vivid visual image related to the memory they want to address.

2. They also identify a negative belief about self that is associated with that memory.

3. The therapist helps the client rate the intensity of their negative emotions associated with that memory on a scale of 0-10 (with 10 being the highest).

4. The client focuses on their image and negative thoughts while simultaneously engaging in EMDR processing using sets of bilateral stimulation (e.g., eye movements, taps or tones). These sets may vary from person to person depending on their needs and comfort level with each set length being different for each individual patient.

5 . After each set of stimulation, the clinician instructs the client to let his/her mind go blank and notice whatever thought, feeling, image, memory or sensation comes up spontaneously. Depending upon what is reported by the client after each set they will choose next focus area for attention during this process which repeats numerous times throughout session until no distress related to targeted memory remains.

The assessment of EMDR therapy is similar to that of other therapies in that it involves reviewing the client’s symptoms and health history to gain a better understanding of where they are in the treatment process.

However, unlike other therapies, EMDR therapists also identify past memories, current triggers, and future goals as targets for treatment. They do this by briefly talking with clients about their trauma experiences in order to determine which memories need to be addressed first.

The body scan is an important component of EMDR therapy that helps clients identify any residual somatic distress. During the body scan, clients are instructed to focus on their physical response while thinking about the incident and their negative cognition. This allows them to identify any areas of discomfort or pain in their body and process it using standard procedures such as BLS.

For example, if a client is experiencing panic attacks related to a traumatic event they experienced in childhood, they can use EMDR therapy along with the body scan technique to help alleviate their symptoms. First, the therapist would assess the client’s current level of distress and create an individualized treatment plan based on that assessment. Then, the therapist would guide them through phases three through six of EMDR therapy by helping them identify a vivid visual image related to their memory; negative beliefs about themselves; related emotions/body sensations; a positive belief; rate each one on intensity scales; focus on image/thought/sensation while using bilateral stimulation like eye movements or taps or tones etc.; let mind go blank after each set & notice whatever thought/feeling comes up naturally again & adjust positive belief if needed before moving onto next distressing event etc.. Finally

1. History and treatment planning: You will describe the trauma and associated feelings with your therapist. The therapist will work in coordination with you to develop a treatment plan.

2. Preparation: The therapist will give information about EMDR therapy, its benefits, and the procedure. They will also help you practice eye movements during this phase of the therapy process.

3. Assessment: In this phase, the therapist goes deeper into the target of your therapy and negative beliefs associated with it; they may also teach you various imagery and stress reduction techniques that can be used during sessions or between sessions to handle emotional distress related to past trauma memories.

4 . Desensitization: During this phase, you focus on your memory while simultaneously engaging in eye movements guided by bilateral stimulation (BLS) techniques such as making specific eye movements, tapping, audio tones, or blinking lights; allowing yourself to let go of any thoughts/feelings that come up spontaneously while focusing on negative belief associated with target memory; then identifying these thoughts & refocusing on them if necessary before moving onto another targeted memory if desired.

5 . Installation: Here new positive self belief or image is installed by focusing on it through another repetition.

1. During the re-evaluation phase, your therapist will ask about the memories and feelings you addressed in the previous session.

2. If those memories still cause distress, they will continue targeting them in order to reduce their impact on your life.

3. If not, they’ll likely suggest moving on to new targets that need different responses or coping mechanisms for future incidents of upset or trauma related events.

4. The therapist and client will review progress made during each session and decide whether further sessions are needed in order to achieve desired results or if treatment can be discontinued altogether if desired goals have been met successfully.

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