EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a specialized form of therapy that treats trauma. Traumatic memories can cause a lot of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, panic attacks, or Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. If you’ve endured trauma, it’s critical to take your experiences seriously and seek mental health treatment. Don’t ignore your symptoms, as they can plague you or get worse. You deserve to have a good quality of life, and therapy can help you achieve that. One form of treatment you can explore is EMDR. In the most common form of EMDR, a person is asked to recall a painful memory while they follow their therapist’s finger back and forth. The idea behind this form of treatment is that it pushes the brain to engage in bilateral stimulation. A person remembers their trauma while following their therapist’s finger movements. In discovering EMDR, researchers noticed that it was challenging to think about something upsetting while looking back and forth. This concept was applied in practice, and we now know that EMDR can help people process their traumatic memories and heal.
What is bilateral stimulation?
Bilateral stimulation means you are experiencing one of your senses: sight, sound or touch while crossing your body in a rhythmic pattern. You can find examples of this type of stimulation in everyday life. One example is when you listen to music and tap your foot or fingertips on a surface. Another example is walking or running outside. You’re doing a repetitive rhythmic movement back and forth while processing the stimuli you see. Many people find bilateral stimulation soothing and that it helps them gain emotional and mental clarity. It’s one of the main concepts you see in EMDR. One of the most common forms of bilateral stimulation we see in EMDR is finger movements. The therapist moves their finger back and forth, and the client follows it with their eyes. Their eyes are engaging in bilateral stimulation as they recall a traumatic memory. Another form of bilateral stimulation is when a therapist uses light or sound. Sometimes the mental health professional will tap on the client’s legs or arms to enhance their awareness of their body as they process their traumatic memory. Other times, clients will be asked to tap their bodies in particular places while they recall a disturbing memory. While they do that, the therapist helps the client repeat a positive mantra aloud to replace their traumatic memory with good associations.
Parallel processing in EMDR
In psychology, the concept of parallel processing demonstrates how sophisticated the brain is. The mind can simultaneously process and comprehend stimuli from different concepts such as motion, depth, shape, and, lastly, color. In EMDR, parallel processing is present because the client is watching the therapist while observing their finger movements. The patient could be listening to sounds on headphones while recalling a painful memory. Human beings are able to take in information and change the way our minds work because of parallel processing. That’s a powerful concept because it reminds us that we don’t have to be stuck in our traumatic memories. By using EMDR techniques and allowing our brains to parallel process information, we’re modifying the way we see the world and ourselves in relation to it. You can divide your attention and still process your trauma because the brain is that powerful.
Can EMDR help me?
If you’re a trauma survivor, it could be worth exploring EMDR. It’s one of the most effective forms of therapeutic interventions for trauma survivors. People who have had pervasive panic attacks have benefited from seeing an EMDR provider. It’s miraculous how many people this treatment has helped. A competent EMDR therapist is not going to rush your healing process. They’re going to have several sessions with you to find out what your story is and determine the source of your trauma. Your therapist helps you target the most distressing memory so you can work on it during the EMDR treatment. When doing work of this kind, it’s crucial not to push yourself to be ready for bilateral stimulation exercises. You need to trust your therapist to make the determination that you’re prepared to enter the main phase of EMDR. They need to understand what memories are haunting them so they can develop a game plan to target them during treatment. If you’re curious about EMDR, you might consider consulting with a licensed therapist who practices it. Make sure that person has been through the appropriate training to administer EMDR. There are many trauma-informed mental health providers out there, but you need to search for those who understand and practice EMDR. It’s worth the effort to look for a provider who knows how to use bilateral stimulation. If you’ve been through traumatic experiences, therapy can help you work through them and change the way you feel about yourself.
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