What is EMDR Therapy?
Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing
EMDR is a structured psychotherapy that helps individuals process past events using a bilateral stimulation technique (such as eye movement) to desensitize targeted memories.
In EMDR we use a bilateral stimulation to activate opposite sides of the brain. Originally, this was through eye movement where a client followed a light or their therapist's fingers back and forth. The basis of this is how eye movements mimic the eye movements in sleep during REM sleep. Bilateral stimulation also includes different things like: holding devices in their hands to feel a soft buzz, wearing earphones to hear a tone go back and forth, or tapping on your own shoulders or knees.
Through this process, you can reprocess trapped memories so that your brain can begin processing them normally. Through reprocessing the memories, you can gain a better understanding of why you have some beliefs you have and why they're still impacting you. Once those memories aren't disturbing anymore, they have less of an impact on your day-to-day life.