Explaining EMDR

EMDR is about reprocessing things that have happened to us. When traumatic events take place,
especially over time, like growing up in an alcoholic home, we begin to develop distorted views
of ourselves and the world. Our beliefs often hold us back because they are erroneous in origin.
When we can reprocess some of what has happened to us, we begin to see the world differently.

When traumatic things happen in our lives, sometimes our brain does not know how to store the
information. The uncomfortable or traumatic memory becomes isolated, not only from good
memories, but often from any memories. The memories are not connected in a meaningful way,
they are floating in time. A way to tell if a memory has been stored dysfunctionally is to notice:
how long ago does it feel like it happened? If it feels like it happened “yesterday” and is intact
with sensations, images, sounds or smells, then this is a memory that needs to be processed. The
same is true of disturbing thoughts that we can’t seem to shake.

EMDR stands for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. There have been numerous
studies of how it has helped combat vets and others in stressful situations. EMDR works
similarly to REM sleep. It helps us process the events of the day, disturbing and pleasant. It
integrates all the aspects of the information. EMDR is also known as accelerated information
processing. Some people use it for performance enhancement.

EMDR provides a way for the information to be processed. In brief (and oversimplified), the
therapist asks the patient to bring to mind the incident the patient wants to work on
(remembering the images, sounds, impressions and other sensations), the negative thinking
caused by the incident, and the new thoughts the patient would like to have about him or herself.
The therapist then moves her hand rapidly in front of the patient. The patient follows the fingers
with his or her eyes. After a number of sets of movements, patients generally think and feel
differently about the incident, similar incidents, and themselves. Healing has begun.

As time has gone on, it has become clear that eye movements are not the only way to create
integration. The therapist may tap the knees or the hands of the patient, the patient can hold onto
pulsars that gently buzz in each hand, or by use of sounds alternating ear-to-ear. The key is for
the brain to receive stimulation to both sides of the brain.
Deborah Sweet, Psy.D.
 Explaining the Neurobiology of Trauma
Experiencing trauma, whether it’s recent or from childhood, can have lasting effects on us. Have
you ever heard yourself say, “It feels like it just happened yesterday”? This feeling can indicate
that a memory has been stored “dysfunctionally”, that is to say, the memory has not been
properly processed or integrated. For memories to be integrated, the information must be
processed using both the right and left hemispheres of the brain. In trauma, often the traumatic
event is stored in the right side of the brain with not concept of time or history. For integration to
take place, new neural pathways must be constructed. This happens the two sides of the brain
are in contact with each other, when emotion and reason connect together.

The people in this field who developed this therapy explored: How is it that animals in the wild,
constantly dealing with danger, do not appear to be traumatized? The difference is they do not
have the thinking brain (the prefrontal cortex). They are not told, “Stop it, pull yourself together,
it wasn’t that bad” either internally or by someone else. They are able to metabolize the
experience often by shaking, trembling and orienting to their surroundings. A while later they
are grazing with the other animals. The question then becomes: How can we help people
discharge the activation in their systems to help them get back to their lives?

As stated earlier, oftentimes our brains do not know how to store traumatic memories. This is
because trauma interferes with how the brain classifies or is aware of how far in the past
something happened. In the limbic system, the amygdala is the emotional center of the brain, it
gives emotional meaning to incoming information. The hippocampus is like a file cabinet where
the information is held. In traumatized people, there has been a disruption between the emotions
and the file cabinet, therefore the information is not processed or integrated.

Another way of saying this is there are two hemispheres to the brain. The right hemisphere is
concerned with emotions and creativity and the left hemisphere is concerned with logic,
language and reason. EMDR stimulates neural pathways so that memories can move into the
right and left hemispheres in a way so that events can be placed in time with all of the feelings,
impressions and sensations fully integrated.

Deborah Sweet, Psy.D.