EMDR…?!

I’m not sure about you but there are so many acronyms and nomenclatures in use today that it’s very easy to fall fowl of their meaning or feel completely confused as to what people are talking about.

So, in the spirit of the moment, why not introduce another.. Just to make things even more clear (Deep breath, eye roll, and… in we go).

Sciences are notorious for jargon and psychology is no exception. So let’s try to do this in plain old English that we can all understand.

EMDR = Eye Movement, Densensitzation and Reprocessing. Feel better now?

Probably not. It’s still a bit niche, isn’t it..

So here’s the basic idea. EMDR works with the way that the brain encodes human experience in the form of memory.

Every time you have an experience, your brain structure changes. Neural networks – the connections between neurons in the brain – reflect our experiences and encode them as memories. The idea that EMDR rests on is that mental distress is grounded in dysfunctionally stored memories. Another way of saying that is: A specific neural network related to a memory, or set of memories, is impeding our brain’s ability to function in a healthy & desirable way.

In other words, we get anxious or angry, or upset, or any number of other experiences that can feel quite unpleasant to put it mildly.

For example, imagine that one of your parents was very critical of you throughout childhood. You know the sort, nothing you did was ever good enough. Perhaps you now feel like it’s never likely to be. Your brain might encode this memory which informs an underlying belief that You’re not good enough. That belief influences the rest of your life in some way.

Maybe you never go for that dream job because You’re not good enough.

Maybe you never ask ‘the one’ out on a date because You’re not good enough.

Maybe you go the other way and strive for perfection in everything you do because not being perfect means You’re not good enough.

It sounds tiring just reading it never mind living a life of it.

EMDR uses phases of talking therapy to reveal these underlying beliefs about ourselves which relate to a dysfunctionally stored memory, and then uses bi-lateral stimulation to manipulate neural networks to develop a more healthy, desirable structure to that network, by integrating into a wider healthier network.

Wait, what…? An EMDR therapist will work with your senses to alternate signals, like light, sound, touch, etc, which seems to loosen up the brain’s ability to change (called neuroplasticity) and then settle on a more desirable state, leaving you feeling better. The memory doesn’t change, but your response to it does.

Of course, it’s more complicated than that, but we’re trying to keep things simple here.

EMDR has a wide and continually growing evidence base and is really good at working with things like anxiety, trauma, depression, and on & on.

Typically sessions are a little more expensive because they tend to last longer. Up to 90 minutes instead of the standard therapeutic hour. And, the training is specialist the therapist’s have extensive additional training to deliver the therapy, which is costly both financially and in terms of the time required to qualify.

So, could EMDR be a good fit for you?

Well the short answer is, Yes.

Although there are opportunities to talk about your experiences as much as you like, the beauty of EMDR is that you don’t actually have to do that much talking. It’s very effective without hours of reliving and recounting the traumatic moments of your life.

When integrated with other approaches, like Person Centred – see my last post – it can offer the best of both worlds.

EMDR therapist’s are a little harder to find than others because there are fewer about but they are growing in number all the time because of the effectivity and popularity of EMDR.

As ever, my advice when choosing a therapist or type of therapy for you is always the same no matter what your issue. Pick up the phone and talk to the therapist you are considering working with. This gives you a chance to briefly explain your issue, and the therapist an opportunity to describe how they might work with you.

In so doing, you get a chance to experience what it’s actually like talking to that therapist and get a feel for whether they’re someone you feel you can talk to. You are likely to be sharing some very personal information so you need to feel comfortable talking to that person.

For this reason, I always offer a free consultation to provide that opportunity at no cost but I’m sure that any good therapist would at least be willing to talk to you briefly on the phone to provide that opportunity.

Watch out for my next article. Everyone’s heard of Freud, right? So, let me take you on a brief tour of psychodynamic therapy.

If you’d like to discuss Counselling & Psychotherapy for yourself or someone you know, contact BroadMinds Therapy and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you have and discuss options for you.

Call 0899420568

Email: help@broadmindstherapy.org

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Web: https://broadmindstherapy.org

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