EMDR
How does EMDR work?
EMDR is based in the assumption that people are born into the world and develop through various experiences, and that negative experiences can often be “maladaptively” stored in our memory. Think of this as painful memory from one’s past that has not fully meshed with the rest of the person’s memory – something prevents it from integrating into the rest of the system. These maladaptively stored memories function like corrupted files on a computer, and EMDR is used to defragment the corrupted files so they can be re-integrated back into the system.
Imagine a car accident:
For one person the accident may have been scary, even caused an injury, but may not have left a lasting emotional impression on the individual. However, another individual in the same accident may have had a very different reaction. Perhaps the person remains deeply fearful from the experience, or there are sounds that cue feelings of fear, or even uncontrolled shaking.
It’s like the negatives from the experience feel so intense that the logical feelings of safety - no longer being in danger - can’t be felt. The negatives cover up the positives.
EMDR would approach this to understand what Negative Core Beliefs a person has formed that influence this memory. By identifying the core belief and applying sets of Bilateral Stimulation to the recollections of the memory the client and therapist are able to activate the parts of the brain that are naturally in charge of processing information. The negative belief is targeted, desensitized over time, and then replaced by the applicable Positive Core Belief.
EMDR is not about changing a person’s memory, or trying to erase the past. Instead it involves bringing the feelings of distress to a person’s awareness in the present moment and processing them so that negative events are no loner overwhelming. This way person is able to move through their life with a more appropriate, healthy, and adaptive outlook on their past and future.
Instead of the negatives overwhelming the positives, clients are walked through the process of looking at and processing through a memory. When empowered to confront the memories in a safe way, the brain will enable someone to empower the positive beliefs and reduce the distress from the target memory. The positive can now place the memory in context of what it is: a memory from the past that doesn’t have to flood the present.