EMDR Explained

By Ben Segal

Why talk about EMDR? 

There is a growing awareness of EMDR's efficacy with not just PTSD, but a broad range of other mental health experiences such as anxiety, panic, depression, stress, complicated grief, and addiction. The purpose of today's brief EMDR overview is to help demystify aspects of the therapy so that it is easier for you make an informed decision to engage in the intervention. 

  

What is EMDR? 

EMDR is an evidence-based psychological therapy that uses bi-lateral stimulation (BLS), such as left-right eye movements to help the brain adaptively process memories of difficult experiences that facilitate ongoing distress. The Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) theory that underlies EMDR explains how psychological distress is the result of unprocessed difficult life experiences. 

Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) Theory 

When people experience overwhelming life experiences - ranging from single incidents like road accidents to repeated events such as bullying - natural memory processing mechanisms can become disrupted. When this happens, aspects of the memory can become "stuck" in a raw sensory-emotional episodic format, rather than being encoded as neutral data. It's as though the difficult memory is maladaptively stored in a high-definition blue-ray DVD format. The difficult memories become "movies" that are replayed every time the maladaptive memory networks are accessed, rather than the memories being stored as vocal "podcast" recordings reporting what happened neutrally.  

Maladaptive Memory Networks 

Unprocessed memories are stored within maladaptive memory networks residing in the limbic system, an area of the brain strongly associated with emotions and physical sensations. These maladaptive memory networks are detached from the prefrontal cortex which contains adaptive memory networks. Consequently, when these maladaptive memory networks are repeatedly triggered by reminders of past events, people experience vivid adverse somatic sensations and disturbing emotions connected to intense negative thoughts. Life becomes more difficult to navigate as individuals are unable to access therapeutic resources, helpful life skills, and coping strategies from their adaptive memory networks in the prefrontal cortex whilst they are stuck in their limbic system. 

How BLS works 

After collaboratively choosing to process a disturbing memory, your clinician will ask a few specific questions and then induce BLS for you. Different forms of BLS include eye movements (prompted by focusing on your therapist's finger moving back and forth), audio produced through headphones, and tactile buzzers held in both hands. After a short set of BLS, your clinician will invite you to identify the internal experiences you noticed during the process. Observations may include shifts in cognitions, emotions, images, and physical sensations. 

Focusing on BLS and these shifts in internal experience simultaneously reduces memory disturbance, allowing recollection of formerly disturbing memories to become neutral.  AIP theory highlights that these decreases in disturbance are the result of BLS linking maladaptive memory networks to adaptive memory networks, allowing you to use your adaptive resources to process difficult experiences. This mechanism has been observed to relate to significant increases in wellbeing and has assisted many in fulfilling their therapeutic goals. 

Is EMDR appropriate for me? 

EMDR’s broad applicability means it can be effective for many people with varying therapeutic goals. If you are experiencing emotional dysregulation, overwhelming physical sensations, can’t stop thinking about distressing memories, or simply struggle with making progress towards important life goals, such as returning to work, EMDR may be suitable for you. 

Whilst EMDR can be an effective way of facilitating therapeutic progress, there are several contraindicating and complicating medical and mental health conditions for participation in EMDR. Your EMDR therapist will ensure that these factors are taken into consideration for you by conducting a thorough history taking and formulation.