Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

In addition to ACT, I also practice Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).

Here’s a video of how EMDR works explained much more eloquently and scientifically than I’m capable of.  

I see EMDR as a powerful tool that helps us move beyond our judgements about what we’ve survived. 

In fact, therapists can’t actually provide a definitive list of what is or is not a traumatic event. 

Why? 

Because what makes something traumatic is how the specific person’s nervous system responds to that event.

Of course we have studies and data about events that are generally going to be traumatizing for most people - but in the process of individual therapy, your nervous system has already decided what’s been traumatic. 

Things I hear a lot:

“Well, a lot of people have been through a lot worse than I have”

‘I’ve been through worse things than [x]” 

“It wasn’t that big of a deal”

“I don’t know why I’m not over [x]” 

Despite these rationalizations, they’re still suffering from nightmares, intrusive memories, poor self-worth, suicidal ideation, somatic symptoms - you name it. 

I’ve also heard the flipside - I’ve had people express confusion or self-judgment when they go through something hard but they don’t feel as impacted by it as they expected they would. 

Whether or not we consciously consider an event traumatic is irrelevant. Our nervous systems have already coded it, all we can do now is work with it. 

EMDR can be a useful tool for just working with it. The stories, judgments, evaluation are all still there, they’re actually invited. 

But when we do the formal processing (when your eyes bounce back and forth around the screen) there’s not as much room for the words; just the feelings, emotions, images, somatic experiences - the parts of our brains that don’t use (or don’t rely heavily on) words get a chance to talk to us.

We get to hear and feel other perspectives from within ourselves, and these perspectives can help shift our whole being.

I also love EMDR as a tool for engaging our imagination to support our healing - we can use it for instilling affirmations, positive visualizations, meditative practices, and developing our internal resources.  

Again, if you have questions or want to learn more - please reach out!