Have you ever found yourself acting in a way that sincerely surprised you? Have you felt unaware of why an experience bothered you so much? It could be baffling to try to understand it, and so we quite naturally discard it or explain it away as being about the other person or event. Though perhaps unsettling, if we become curious enough to look underneath those responses, we may find an avenue to explore in gaining self-understanding and improved ways of relating to others.

Exploring EMDR Therapy for Healing

EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a modality designed to help clients move through old and disturbing events so that they integrate into their system. It is evidence-based and is considered a useful platform for those experiencing anxiety, depression, PTSD, chronic pain, and other distressing issues. Essentially, it addresses a past experience that hasn’t fully reached completion in our bodies and minds. An experience feels complete when a reminder in the environment no longer elicits disturbing unconscious and involuntary mental, physical, and/or emotional distress. We all have these experiences.

Perhaps we start with an interaction with a friend or colleague, an image, or even a dream that leaves behind enough residue in our system to signal that there may be more to uncover. Most of us prefer to have clear communication in our relationships, so we may feel internally motivated and eager to explore this. The key ingredient to this approach is that we are bringing up a memory, image, symptom, or issue while maintaining recognition that it is not currently occurring.

During the session, the therapist monitors our ability to tolerate the reprocessing to avoid overwhelm. This is very important. We are guided and repeatedly reminded how to orient ourselves to the present moment. This convinces us that the contents of what we are experiencing are no longer occurring in the present but are simply memories from the past. After a series of sessions, we may discover that these experiences have loosened within us. The charge previously felt is more conscious, less abrasive, and feels neutral to us. It is hard to believe how significant a change some clients feel when they commit some time and work to exploring this very useful modality in therapy.