EMDR Part 2: What I know about practicing EMDR now

I did my EMDR training in December of 2023. I cannot believe that it has been that long already! I have been reflecting about how EMDR has changed my practice. I am getting a lot of requests for EMDR work and I feel compelled to write a part two about this because I know so much more now than I did in the early days after doing the training. I remember right after I completed my training, I had 2 clients who were willing to try EMDR with me - fresh out of learning it. I am forever grateful to those 2 clients, I think about them often, and I appreciate the trust they put in me as a newbie.

So, what is EMDR? EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is an evidence-based therapy designed to help people heal from trauma and distressing events.

There are 8 phases of EMDR:

Phase 1: History and Treatment Planning: Discuss what brings you to therapy. Build a treatment plan and choose target memories.

Phase 2: Preparation: Explain how EMDR works. Teach coping and grounding techniques.

Phase 3: Assessment: Identify a specific target memory. Note the negative belief, emotions, and physical feelings.

Phase 4: Desensitization: Focus on the memory while using bilateral stimulation (like eye movements or taps). Lower the distress level until it drops.

Phase 5: Installation: Strengthen a positive belief to replace the old negative one.

Phase 6: Body Scan: Check the body for any left-over tension or stress.

Phase 7: Closure: Bring the session to a calm and stable end.

Phase 8: Re-evaluation: Review progress at the start of the next session

What happens when we are distressed?

When an upsetting experience happens, stress hormones are released (cortisol and adrenaline), and the memory part of the brain (hippocampus) shuts down and the alarm part goes off (amygdala), signaling danger. This is why when we experience something overwhelming, the brain doesn’t always store that memory in the “past.” It gets stuck - unprocessed, charged with emotion, and easily triggered by reminders in the present. 

How can EMDR help?

EMDR helps your brain go back and finish the job it never got to complete. Through bilateral stimulation (eye movements, tapping, or tones), both sides of the brain communicate, allowing the memory to integrate safely. Recognize that the event is in the past, rather than a present danger. Brain knows how to heal itself; we just need to create the conditions for safety, within the counselling relationship and using the EMDR protocol.

EMDR is neuroscience in motion and the client’s job is just to notice what comes up during processing. You will still remember what happened, but it will no longer control your body’s reaction. That is what integration feels like.

What is the brain science of EMDR?

The person is asked to recall the distressing event/image/sensation/memory while doing bilateral stimulation (this could be through eye movements, auditory sounds, holding vibrating tappers or self-tapping). The bilateral stimulation taxes the working memory (focusing on the event and the tapping at the same time). When the memory is activated and working memory is taxed, the brain begins to integrate the experience. The person is able to recall the distressing event from the past, while staying present in the room. New neural connections are formed between the memory and how it is being stored in the brain and body. The memory is stored more adaptively and often clients gain new self-beliefs, insights, and a feeling that the trigger is more settled for them. I like to describe it as a feeling of having the volume turned down on something that was very emotionally and physically triggering before. Here are some video links about what EMDR is and what it is like to experience it as the client:

https://www.emdria.org/about-emdr-therapy/

https://www.emdria.org/about-emdr-therapy/experiencing-emdr-therapy/

What can it help with?

EMDR can be used to treat a variety of concerns, mental health issues, and process past experiences. It is a different kind of therapy experience which involves the integration of the material in the body and the brain. This is called somatic work, where we get out of the intellectualizing the experience and we notice how it feels in the body. EMDR can be used for a single incident trauma (like a car accident or assault) or for what we could call complex trauma – which means something that happened over and over again (for example: on-going neglect or abuse). EMDR is designed so that people do not have to go into detail re-telling what happened to them, a person can give a brief statement such as “the incident that happened in the parking lot”. EMDR can also be very helpful for those people who may not have experienced a trauma, but have chronic anxiety, a harsh inner critic, or negative beliefs about themselves. EMDR can help to process these beliefs and integrate them, and often people find a more realistic view of themselves. For example, someone might have the belief of “I am unlovable” and through EMDR work they could get to more positive belief of “I am loveable just the way I am”.

 How do I work with EMDR?

I usually spend the first few sessions giving information about what EMDR is, how it works, what the sessions will be like, possible adverse effects, and answering any questions clients may have. It is different that typical talk therapy because we follow a more structured plan. It is important to spend time in phase 1 and 2 to establish a safe working relationship and to make sure that the person I am working with is well resourced to deal with any anxiety/stress that can come from doing EMDR work.

I also like to the filing cabinet metaphor for explaining EMDR. Explaining that we have many experiences in our lives and most of them get fully processed and filed away in the way they’re supposed to. But some of them don’t, and when something is overwhelming, painful, stressful, our brain may not be able to fully process it. Instead, the memory gets stored in a disorganized way. It is often not just stored as a memory but as a body sensation, a sight, a smell, a sound, emotions, and negative self-beliefs. It is as though the entire file has been shoved into the wrong drawer. Even though this memory happened in the past, years later when something reminds you of that experience, it can be as though the old file is pulled out in the present day, and you are reacting to something old in your life. EMDR doesn’t erase the memories, it helps the brain and body finish processing them in a way that that file can be put away and stored properly in the filing cabinet of your brain.

EMDR can be particularly helpful if you are a person who has done a lot of talk therapy and is feeling a bit stuck. Shifting to a more somatic based therapy, maybe helpful. I have had the privilege of supporting people to do this hard, emotional work, and I have witnessed the incredible, life changing impacts that it has had on their lives. This post is an acknowledgement to everyone I have walked alongside in their EMDR journey. If you're interested in finding out more about my EMDR, practice, please reach out.

(My very first blog post was about EMDR in February 2024. For those of you that want to read my original EMDR blog, check it out here: https://lisaclarabutrcc.wixsite.com/counselling/post/what-is-eye-movement-reprocessing-and-desensitization-emdr )

Happy reading,

Lisa xo