EMDR | Bright Eyes Consult

EMDR:

EYE MOVEMENT DESENSITIZATION REPROCESSING

What is EMDR Therapy?

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an extensively researched, effective psychotherapy method proven to help people recover from trauma and other distressing life experiences, including PTSD, anxiety, depression, and panic disorders.

The following organizations recognize EMDR therapy as an effective treatment:

American Psychiatric Association
American Psychological Association
International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
National Alliance on Mental Illness
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs/Department of Defense
The Cochran Database of Systematic Reviews
The World Health Organization

How is EMDR Different from Other Therapies?

Our brains have a natural way to recover from traumatic memories and events. This process involves communication between the amygdala (the alarm signal for stressful events), the hippocampus (which assists with learning, including memories about safety and danger), and the prefrontal cortex (which analyzes and controls behavior and emotion). While many times traumatic experiences can be managed and resolved spontaneously, others may not be processed without help.

EMDR therapy does not require talking in detail about the distressing issue or homework between sessions. EMDR supports the brain to resume its natural healing process. EMDR therapy is designed to process traumatic memories in the brain, so the person is informed by these memories but not controlled by them. Part of the therapy includes alternating eye movements, sounds, or taps. For many clients, EMDR therapy can be completed in fewer sessions than other psychotherapies.

EMDR therapy can be done in-person or via telehealth and must be done with a properly trained and licensed mental health clinician.

How can EMDR Therapy Help with the Healing Process?

Stress responses are our natural fight, flight, or freeze instincts. When distress from a disturbing event remains, the upsetting images, thoughts, and emotions may create feelings of overwhelm, of being back in that moment, or of being “frozen in time.” EMDR therapy helps the brain process these memories and allows normal healing to resume. The experience is still remembered, but the fight, flight, or freeze response from the original event is resolved.

Using EMDR to Strengthen Your Future Self

EMDR therapy is not just about healing from the past—it also helps you manage the present and build confidence for the future. The Future Template is an EMDR technique that helps you mentally prepare for upcoming situations. With the support of your therapist, you’ll identify a future scenario you want to handle well, develop a positive belief about yourself, and rehearse the situation using bilateral stimulation. This process strengthens your ability to face future challenges with clarity and self-assurance.

Experiencing EMDR Therapy

After the client and therapist discuss the client’s history and agree that EMDR reprocessing is a good fit, the client will be asked to focus on a specific event. Attention will be given to a negative image, belief, feelings, and body sensations related to this event. While the client focuses on the upsetting event, the therapist will begin sets of side-to-side eye movements, sounds, or taps. The client will be guided to notice what comes after each set. There might be changes in insights, images, feelings, body sensations, and/or beliefs regarding the event. The client has full control to stop reprocessing at any point if needed. The sets of eye movements, sounds, or taps are repeated until the event becomes less disturbing. Then, the client will focus their attention on a positive belief that would indicate the issue was resolved. After, the client will process any disturbance still left in their body related to this event. Before the end of the session, the therapist supports the client to feel grounded and close the session. At the beginning of the next session, the client and therapist review the work done in the past session and continue reprocessing events as needed.