Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing or EMDR is an evidence-based therapeutic intervention that is designed to support trauma recovery. It has been shown to be effective for a variety of concerns including PTSD, anxiety, depression, grief and loss, eating disorders, and personality disorders. EMDR promotes recovery by helping our brains reprocess distressing memories.

In the brain's natural process, our right hemispheres collect all the sensory data, what we can see, feel, and so forth and connect that information to the left hemisphere of our brains where we assign words and meaning to those perceptions. This is how we create stories about our experiences and make sense of ourselves. When we go through an adverse life experience such as trauma, abuse, or neglect, it can overwhelm this natural processing and we can end up feeling stuck or getting triggered. Our brains struggle to calm down and re-regulate after the experience is over, so it leaves us feeling as if we are constantly in danger or stuck repeating the same unhealthy relational patterns.

But you don't have to stay stuck! What we do in EMDR is provide bilateral stimulation or left to right signals either through eye movements, tapping sensations, or auditory signals, and these back and forth movements help reconnect the left and right hemispheres of your brain. By reconnecting these blocked parts of your brain, we are helping you reconnect to your body and emotions, and make new connections, and assist you to move through your past experiences without being triggered back to those old responses. EMDR does not erase your traumatic memory, but it does help desensitize their effects so that the trauma no longer interrupts your day-to-day life.

If you'd like to learn more about EMDR, the official EMDR website provides data and research on the benefits of EMDR.

Is EMDR is right for you? 

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