EMDR is a powerful therapeutic process used to support people in their recovery from past trauma, anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive tendencies and many other mental health issues.  It is an evidenced-based practice and is recognized by the American Psychological Association as a purposeful tool for therapy.  Having used EMDR in my clinical practice as a Certified EMDR counsellor, I attest for the success rate of clients using the modality.  Success is measured using A Subjective Unit of Distress (Scale SUDS) with a rating out of 10. 10/10 corresponds to an extremely painful feeling to 0 meaning no stress or disturbance experienced by the client.  The client’s VoC (Validity of Cognition) is also used as a measurement tool. 7/7 registers a feeling of truth with 0/7 meaning no truth or belief in self with a positive framework.  I have treated clients experiencing early childhood sexual and emotional abuse, negative experiences from motor vehicle accidents and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as defined by the DSM-5 Manual) from wartime trauma.  I have also used EMDR for clients with anxiety and depression as well as other “small t” traumas.

EMDR was founded by Francine Shapiro in the mid 1980’s by happenstance.  She was strolling through the woods while thinking about troubling personal issues.  She noticed that the rapid bilateral eye movements (i.e.,moving from side to side) seemed to process her disturbing thoughts.  As a result, she used her experience as a basis for formulating her work in EMDR Therapy.  Current research suggests that bilateral eye movements seem to replicate the rapid eye movements experienced during REM sleep which is the part of the resting stage that heals and repairs the body. Further research, however, is necessary for a better understanding of how EMDR actually works.

I will provide clinical-based evidence for the validity of the practice by citing one example from my own practice.  One of my clients, a 72 year old patient, who’s name shall remain anonymous in order to protect the confidentiality of the client, moved the SUDS level from a 10/10 to a 1/10 after three 45-minute sessions of therapy spread over a three week period. Although we did not process the childhood trauma to achieve a 0/10 SUDS score, we did meet the treatment goal of reducing the emotional intensity associated with the experience.  It is important to note that EMDR therapy does not tend to erase the original memory.  It does, however, remove the emotionality out of the person’s emotional state.  As a result, when the person revisits the original experience there are no emotions associated with it or be triggered by current events.

As mentioned in the basic EMDR protocol, the client’s brain and body are doing the processing; not the therapist.  The therapist is merely providing a safe place for the client to process past and current events with greater clarity.  If the client is not ready to explore deep rooted emotions, then the therapist may use a Resource Development Inventory to build up the client’s inner resources prior to diving into the basic EMDR protocol.  Given that people come with their own unique operating systems there a a number of different scripts to meet the needs of the individual.  As such, there are protocols for addiction such as the DeTUR, Cravex and other interventions using the Level Of Urge in lieu of the SUDS.  A multitude of other protocols have also been developed since the 1980’s all of which have been validated through research.

If you are interested in exploring EMDR Therapy for a life interfering challenge, please reach out.  I can be contacted via email and/or text message at:

lorijunemagri@gmail.com

604-760-5140

Namaste