What is EMDR Therapy?

At CYOP, we have heard many talks about Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy, and recognize many people do not know how this type of therapy looks in practice. In this blog post, you will find a detailed breakdown of what EMDR Therapy really is, and how it works in practice.

What is the goal of EMDR Therapy?

The goal of EMDR Therapy is to alleviate symptoms a client is experiencing stemming from a traumatic event that occurred in the client's life. EMDR Therapy allows a client to completely process a traumatic event that is causing Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms, while including new experiences needed to move past the traumatic event. A typical EMDR Therapy session can last anywhere from 60-90 minutes and can take several sessions to completely process a traumatic event.

To alleviate PTSD symptoms, a three-pronged protocol is used to target a single trauma event. The three-prongs include: past memories, present disturbance, and future actions.

The Eight Phases of EMDR Therapy

Phase 1: History and Treatment Planning

During this phase, the therapist takes a thorough history of the client and develops a treatment plan. This phase will include a discussion of the specific problem that has brought him or her into therapy and the behaviors and symptoms stemming from that problem. Then, following the three-pronged protocol, the therapist will develop a treatment plan that defines the specific targets on which to use EMDR: the key events from the past that created the problem, the present situations that cause distress, and the key skills or behaviors the client needs to learn for his future well-being

Phase 2: Preparation

One of the primary goals of the preparation phase is to establish a relationship of trust between the client and the therapist. While the person does not have to go into great detail about his disturbing memories, if the EMDR client does not trust his or her therapist, he or she may not accurately report what is felt and what changes he or she is (or isn't) experiencing during the eye movements. The therapist will also explain the theory of EMDR, how it works, and what the client can expect during and after treatment.

Phase 3: Assessment

In this phase, the client will be prompted to access each target in a controlled and standardized way to be effectively processed. The first step is for the client to select a specific image or mental picture from the target event that best represents the memory. Then he or she chooses a statement that expresses a negative self-belief associated with the event. The client then picks a positive self-statement that they would rather believe. This statement should incorporate an internal sense of control.

Phase 4: Desensitization

This phase focuses on the client's disturbing emotions and sensations. This phase deals with the person's responses (including other memories, insights, and associations that may arise) as the targeted event changes and its disturbing elements are resolved. During desensitization, the therapist leads the person in sets of eye movements, sounds, or taps with appropriate shifts and changes of focus.

Phase 5: Installation

During this fifth phase of treatment, that person's positive cognition will be strengthened and installed. How deeply the person believes that positive cognition is then measured using the Validity of Cognition (VOC) scale. The goal is for the person to accept the full truth of his or her positive self-statement at a level of 7 (completely true).

Phase 6: Body Scan

After the positive cognition has been strengthened and installed, the therapist will ask the person to bring the original target event to mind and see if any residual tension is noticed in the body. If so, these physical sensations are then targeted for reprocessing. Evaluations of thousands of EMDR sessions indicate that there is a physical response to unresolved thoughts. Therefore, an EMDR session is not considered successful until the client can bring up the original target without feeling any body tension. Positive self-beliefs are important, but they have to be believed on more than just an intellectual level.

Phase 7: Closure

Closure ensures that the person leaves feeling better at the end of each session than at the beginning. If the processing of the traumatic target event is not complete in a single session, the therapist will assist the client in using a variety of self-calming techniques in order to regain a sense of equilibrium. Throughout the EMDR session, the client has been in control, and it is essential that the client continue to feel in control outside the therapist's office.

Phase 8: Re-evaluation

The Reevaluation Phase guides the therapist through the treatment plans needed to deal with the client's problems. As with any form of sound therapy, the Reevaluation Phase is vital to determine the success of the treatment over time. Although clients may feel relief almost immediately with EMDR, it is as essential to complete the eight phases of treatment as it is to complete an entire course of treatment with antibiotics.

Conclusion

To fully wrap up the concept of EMDR Therapy, it is important to note that therapy is not considered successful until attention has been brought to the past memories contributing to the problem, the disturbing present situations, and what skills the client may need for the future. The processing of a traumatic event can take up to several sessions to fully process, speed is not the goal of this type of therapy, and each client will have different needs and may process their trauma differently.

For more detailed information on each phase of EMDR Therapy, visit:

EMDR International Association (EMDRIA): Experiencing EMDR Therapy