EMDR

Our minds are incredible.

When people experience a traumatic or overwhelming event, or are repeatedly subjected to distress, our natural coping mechanisms become overloaded and the experiences can become frozen in the brain. These unprocessed memories are stored in the limbic system of the brain in an emotional context. The limbic system maintains traumatic memories in an isolated memory network associated with emotions and physical sensations. The brain’s cortex is where we use language to store memories and tell stories. EMDR helps create connections between the limbic system and the cortex (the brain’s memory systems) enabling the brain to process the memory in a natural way that creates a story with a beginning, middle, and an end. EMDR uses the natural healing of your body.

EMDR uses bilateral stimulation, which activates both hemispheres of the brain in order to activate both the limbic system and the cortex. Sometimes a bar of moving lights is used to simulate the eye movements that occur during REM sleep, but sometimes vibrations or tapping is used, or even sound through headphones. The bilateral stimulation lasts for a short while and then stops. The person is then asked to report back the experiences that they had during each set of bilateral stimulation. Experiences may include changes in thoughts, images, or feelings. Through repeated bilateral stimulation the memory tends to change in a way that reduces the painful intensity and become a neutral memory of an event that occurred in the past.