EMDR Therapy: Using the Body's Nervous System to Work Through Trauma

EMDR Therapy is a powerful tool to help you work through trauma so you can feel more in control of your life

Trauma is very painful. But you already knew that. Often times, trauma is thought of as a major event, and trauma certainly can be so, but it’s also the smaller experiences in life that can lead to trauma.

One way of defining trauma is this: painful experiences that still have a negative impact on our current lives. The degree of pain and suffering may be different depending on the nature of the trauma, but pain is still a constant. So, what can you do if have experienced trauma in your life and want to find relief and feel free? There are different trauma relief approaches.

One popular, evidence-based approach is EMDR (I am an EMDR Certified Therapist and will happily help you along your journey).

What is EMDR? EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. That’s just a wordy way of saying it’s a therapy technique that uses eye movements, the very same as when we dream, to help individuals work through painful experiences. This will be briefly touched on below along with a video if you would like to see how this fascinating approach works.

As with most therapy approaches, EMDR focuses on the individual’s present concerns. The philosophy behind EMDR is that past emotionally charged experiences are overly influencing your present emotions, sensations, and thoughts about yourself. As an example: “Do you ever feel worthless although you know you are a worthwhile person?”

EMDR can help you break through the emotional blocks that are keeping you from living an emotionally healthy and fulfilling life.

EMDR uses rapid sets of eye movements to help you process disturbing or painful experiences, much like what occurs when we sleep. During sleep we alternate between regular sleep and REM (rapid eye movement). This sleep pattern helps you work through the challenges of the day.

EMDR replicates this sleep pattern by alternating between sets of eye movements and brief comments you make about what you are noticing. This alternating process helps you process your memories into a healthier present perspective. In return, you begin to feel less attached to the trauma and become more in control of your life.

For a short YouTube video on what this looks like, click on the link: EMDR

–Information courtesy of EMDR Consulting, LLC; www.emdrconsulting.com