EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing and is a type of trauma therapy that involves activating bilateral stimulation of the brain—the activation of one side of the brain, then the other, in a repetitive, continuous pattern. This can be done by following a clinician’s finger horizontally from side to side while thinking about the traumatic event you’re trying to reprocess, or through visual, auditory, or tactile stimulations like tapping or blinking lights.
EMDR draws inspiration from REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, the stage of sleep in which people are dreaming, processing life events, and storing memories into long-term memory. During REM sleep, eyes naturally move back and forth to create bilateral stimulation. EMDR applies this same physical strategy to specific traumatic events. The therapy can help rewire the brain and process unresolved trauma, and may accelerate the therapeutic process, with improvement noticed after just one session in some cases. A key benefit is that clients don’t need to speak openly about their traumatic experiences with their therapist.
Studies have found EMDR to be effective for many different mental health issues. Although it’s primarily recommended to treat PTSD, a 2014 review of 24 studies supported EMDR’s effectiveness for treating “emotional trauma and other adverse life experiences,” with some finding it to be “rapid and/or more effective than trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy.” A small 2015 study found that 68 percent of inpatient depression patients showed “full remission” after EMDR, with fewer depression-related problems and relapses a year later. One 2017 study indicated EMDR was equally as effective as cognitive behavioral therapy for panic disorder.
EMDR therapy generally involves eight different steps, though not all are repeated each session: treatment planning, preparation, assessment, desensitization, installation, body scan, closure, and re-evaluation.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/what-is-emdr-therapy-48856530