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Written by Eric Anfinson, LMFT, Radiant Living Therapist

If you’ve been to therapy or know someone who has, you may have heard of EMDR. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR for short, was developed in the late 80s and has since become one of the foremost therapy modalities for processing trauma. Today I want to take a look at what EMDR is, why it works, and a couple of applications many people haven’t thought of when thinking about their options for therapy. Hopefully, by the end of the blog, you’ll have a good idea if EMDR is right for you.

What is EMDR and what does it stand for? 

The main point I always like to explain about EMDR is just what it is. This modality was first developed using eye movements, which is what the EM stands for. The therapist would move a pen or other object back and forth in front of the patient’s eyes during processing in order to create bilateral stimulation of the brain. Simply put, this activates the two halves of the brain back and forth which accomplishes several things.

First, is that we are actively hooking up whatever we want to process to the processing center of the brain. Second, bilateral stimulation allows the emotional and logical centers of the brain to have a meaningful impact on one another when they’re usually separate. Third, we are actively creating new neural pathways to think about trauma in a new way. This is about as simple as I can make it. Bilateral stimulation is used to guide the brain into actively reprocessing trauma in session. Nowadays most therapists use different forms of bilateral stimulation but all are just as effective.

Next, let’s quickly look at the DR portion of EMDR. By releasing intense emotion and distress through bilateral stimulation we desensitize the trauma. This means removing all distress and intensity associated with an experience. After processing you’ll still have feelings about the event, but they won’t be distressing or overwhelming. The R is for reprocessing. This means recontextualizing the trauma and being able to understand and feel differently about it. For example, many victims of sexual assault feel as though what happened was their fault. While they may know logically this is not true, reprocessing allows them to also feel this truth. All together these pieces of EMDR make for a very potent form of therapy for healing through trauma.

Who can EMDR therapy help? 

Now let’s take a look at some people EMDR might be helpful. The first, and most obvious, are those who have what we call “Big T” Trauma. This can include things like rape, assault, combat experience, physical abuse, and much more. EMDR is tailor-made for reprocessing these events. The direct approach of processing intense emotion and distress and then reprocessing to gain a new perspective works incredibly well.

What many people don’t realize is that EMDR can also be used to address what we call “small t” trauma as well as complex trauma, pain, and addiction. Today I’m just focusing on trauma but I do like to mention that EMDR has protocols for these other issues as well. “Small t” trauma can be just about anything. I classify this as anything that leaves us with a core negative belief about ourselves. This usually sounds like “I’m not good enough.” These beliefs can be very hard to get rid of. They’re often so buried in unprocessed emotion that they’re impossible to move.

By processing away all of that emotion, we build a new positive belief like “I am enough” and then work to make that feel true. When it comes to this kind of trauma, I really like the phrase, trauma isn’t just the bad things that happened, but often the good things that didn’t happen. Many people feel like they don’t deserve to process what happened or didn’t happen to them because “it’s not trauma” or “it wasn’t that bad.” If you have a core negative belief about yourself, you need to process that whether we call it trauma or not, and EMDR might be a great fit for you.

EMDR for Complex Trauma Therapy

Complex trauma is similar to this but often more intense. Complex trauma usually comes from growing up in an abusive situation where there’s no single event of trauma. It’s your entire childhood, or longer. Growing up with a caregiver who has Bipolar disorder, Borderline Personality disorder, Narcissistic Personality disorder, or any number of mental illnesses can absolutely be a traumatic experience. EMDR can address this just as well in acute trauma. All of the core concepts remain the same, there’s often just more to process. One of the cool things about EMDR is that we dive in and process the worst of it, which often cuts loose all the rest. We don’t have to go in and reprocess every single traumatic event.

A Disclaimer for EMDR Therapy

As a whole, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is a time-tested and proven therapeutic methodology for working with trauma in any form. The main disclaimer I give clients is that EMDR trauma therapy is intense. The only way to release all that hurt is by feeling it. That’s why we cover specific skills for coping with the process and always make sure you’re feeling stable before and after sessions. You’ll also have your therapist guiding and supporting you throughout the process. As a therapist, EMDR has given me some of my most meaningful and proud moments. There’s nothing better than seeing somebody honestly feel and understand their own worth as a person. If all of this sounds good to you then check us and EMDR out!

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Ready to Start EMDR Therapy in Plymouth, MN, or Virtual EMDR Therapy in Minnesota?

If EMDR therapy makes sense for you, we’d love to connect. We can meet in person or anywhere you are in the state via online therapy in Minnesota. Setting up a time to meet with an expert EMDR therapist in our Plymouth, MN therapy office is easy. Start EMDR therapy with these simple steps:

1. Schedule a free therapy consultation to talk and get started
2. Meet with a specialized EMDR therapist
3. Find a lasting way to cope with your trauma, pain, anxiety, and more.

Other Counseling Services at Radiant Living Therapy

At Radiant Living Therapy, we understand what you’re going through, and provide expert trauma therapy to address your needs. Also, the therapists at our Plymouth, MN counseling office offer other mental health services such as anxiety and depression counseling, teen therapy, counseling for men, and skilled couples therapy. Check out our therapist blog or learn more about our team of expert therapists! Let us help you live your best life!

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