Therapy for Trauma and EMDR - Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing

In this blog post Nicholas Rose speaks with Senior Associate Psychotherapist Monika Smolar about Trauma and EMDR - Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing.

Nicholas: 

'Monika you've worked as a psychotherapist now for over twenty five years, what is it about EMDR that led you to want to integrate it into your way of working'?

Monika:

'I had heard about how effective and fast acting EMDR is and so I spoke to several therapists who were using it and read a number of articles and research papers. I was impressed and fascinated by what I had read and decided to train as an EMDR practitioner.

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing. That is exactly what happens in this form of therapy. EMDR is a type of psychotherapy which is increasingly well-known and popular, amongst both therapists and clients.   It has been well-researched and, as a result, is recommended by NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) for the treatment of PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder).   It is now increasingly used for other problems (including anxiety, depression, and chronic pain), which may have their root in problematic memories. 

EMDR is the most researched form of therapy in the world. A tremendous amount of research has been carried out regarding the effectiveness of EMDR. I have now been using EMDR for some time with clients and I have found that it works very efficiently with a large number of issues'.

Nicholas:

'What is it that makes EMDR effective'?

Monika:

'EMDR works on a neurological basis. We work directly with the brain in EMDR and the changes the client makes are permanent. EMDR lowers distress levels by processing painful, traumatic memories which are ‘frozen’ and storing them in the correct part of the brain.

When we experience a difficult event our brain works to 'process' the difficult feelings so that we can resolve the situation in our mind.  We have all had a difficult experience at some time that we have been able to get over. For instance, a long-term relationship ending, or the death of someone we love. We may feel very distressed, but eventually the feeling is worked through and we are able to live with what has happened.  Over time, and bit by bit, our mind processes the new difficult experience until we feel OK again.  

Sometimes, the difficult event is so hard or traumatic, that our brain has trouble processing - it's as if our whole system has been overloaded.  We may then have 'frozen' memories of that event and experience very painful and distressing emotions every time it comes into our awareness.  This is an unresolved or 'traumatic' memory.

EMDR is a way of unblocking the natural system of processing, so that it is no longer 'frozen'.  It uses a procedure to help the brain start to re-process difficult and traumatic material.  The technique used is called 'bi-lateral stimulation' because it aims to stimulate alternately each side of the brain (left/right). 

In EMDR sessions this is done either with eye movements or with some other bi-lateral stimulation, eg tapping on shoulders or hands.

When we sleep and experience REM sleep we move our eyes left/ right, left/ right as our brains process our experiences and memories from the day. REM sleep is essential to our health and well being. 

EMDR works in the same way in that we move our eyes left/ right whilst focusing on the distressing memory or use other forms of bi-lateral stimulation to process our difficult memories'. 

Nicholas:

'Do you think there are certain concerns that respond better to EMDR?'

Monika:

'EMDR was initially used to treat PTSD and a large variety of traumatic events from experiences of car accidents, death and loss, natural disasters, terrorism, violence, conflict, war, sexual assault, rape and all forms of abuse.EMDR is as effective in treating single trauma events (such as a car accident) as well as more complex trauma (such as experiences of childhood sexual, physical or emotional abuse). EMDR responds very well to phobias, all forms of anxiety, panic attacks, family and relationship issues and anything else which impacts us from the past as well as what we fear in the future.'

Nicholas: 

'I understand that EMDR is used specifically around trauma, when we use the word trauma, what does it mean for you and how might someone recognise an experience as a trauma?' 

Monika:

'Trauma to me means a deeply distressing or disturbing experience. One definition is: ‘an injury to the body or an event that causes long-lasting mental or emotional damage.’

We’ve all been through many ‘small traumas’ which can have an impact on us to this day, from continuously not being chosen for a team in sports/ games at school to being labelled as a certain person by family or friends, from being teased about having to wear glasses or being overweight. Many forms of rejections can be ones we see as distressing or upsetting and they are examples of small traumas.

Then some of us have experienced larger, bigger traumas which can include systematic bullying in school or work as well as the sort of traumas we all think of when encountering the word trauma; from sexual assaults to acts of violence to different types of abuse; sexual, physical, emotional or mental. 

Anything we find painful and difficult to talk about, something we’d rather not think about and try to forget or deny can be examples of small or large traumas.

These experiences can be processed using EMDR.

After a memory has been treated using EMDR, we remember the memory but we don’t feel distressed by it anymore. Consequently it ceases to influence or impact our lives.'

Nicholas: 

'Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and expertise today, if someone is interested in EMDR how can they get started?'

Monika:

'We will start with an initial appointment and together decide on how to proceed, just use our contact details on the website to get in touch.'

For more information click here.