EMDR is one of the many different psychotherapy options. It stands for eye movement desensitization and processing. EMDR is a therapy technique that assists individuals in processing traumatic memories and healing from any distressing life events or experiences.

It’s important not to let hearsay or these common misconceptions about effective treatment options prevent you from seeking the support you need and deserve.

While some people can process traumatic events on their own, often, trauma tends to stick around and stay with a person. Unresolved trauma lives within the body. Even if you don’t exactly remember the trauma that you endured, it can show up in the form of feeling anxious, angry, or sad. It can also start to negatively impact other areas of one’s life, like your career or relationships.

Anxiety is a common feeling that almost everyone will experience throughout their lifetime. Some individuals experience it on a deeper level, which can impact their daily life and routine.

No matter how hard someone may try to block out any thoughts, feelings, or associations with the trauma, trauma will find its way back into the present moment. 

After a traumatic event, both the body and brain tend to hold onto the defense mechanisms that were put in place, causing a person to experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The body and mind fail to recognize if and when the perceived threat has passed.  

While both EMDR and Brainspotting rely on the use of eye movements in order for the treatment to work, the positions and movements are different between the two treatments

You went through a traumatic event. And if you’re being honest, once was enough. You don’t want to have to relive everything. It’s too much. It’s too painful.

EMDR works. Whether done online or in person, EMDR can help you work through the trauma weighing you down.

It can be hard to know how to deal with trauma. EMDR is a good option. They tell us it’s efficient. They tell us it’s surprisingly fast. But it’s hard to know what exactly it entails. Sure, we’re told it involves moving our eyes right to left on and on until the memories stop evoking distress, but that doesn’t explain how EMDR works. Not really.

When we’re used to talking therapy, EMDR can be a little scary. After all, talking therapies don’t work by moving our eyes left and right while thinking of a traumatic memory. No, that’s not what we do in talking therapies. In those, we talk. It’s in the name.

There’s nothing wrong with that, of course. But EMDR truly is helpful. It’s efficient. But it is a fairly new practice, and it’s so different from what we might know that it’s normal to be skeptical. That’s why it’s important to know what to expect, not just from the first session but what will happen afterward, too

EMDR is very different from talk therapy. It requires less talking, for one. It usually takes less time to take effect than talk therapy, yet it’s still considered very effective, especially for people dealing with trauma