EMDR: Hypnosis, Hype, or Highly Effective?

October 12th, 2022

Advancements in the treatment of Addiction and Metal Health are
growing. In the not-so-distant past, both addiction and mental health did not
receive much attention other than baseline treatment systems that bordered improper
of neglectful. From talk therapy to 12-step, or even an intensive in-patient
treatment program- the field of substance abuse treatment has seen a sharp
increase in care. Some of these treatment programs are definitely “outside of
the box” treatment.

Today, I want to introduce you to
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR. I know, it’s a mouth
full, consequently we use the acronym EMDR. EMDR was developed in 1987 by a doctor
by the name of Dr. Francine Shapiro. While undergoing cancer treatment, Dr.
Shapiro came across this treatment almost by accident. Her way of processing
her daily events? She would simply sit and watch people’s daily activities in
the park. Cars driving by, people walking up and down the sidewalk. Back and
forth, left to right, and right to left. Dr. Shapiro had an epiphany, much like
REM sleep- the minds way of sensitizing and reprocessing information. This back-and-forth
movement of the eyes helped her to unlock or process the traumatic events she
had been experiencing while undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Hence, the birth
of what we now call EMDR.

So, what is EMDR? Does it work, and
if so, how? And, it sounds like hypnosis, is it hypnosis? Let me clear the air
here. It’s not hypnosis. If I’m honest, that was my initial reaction to the
idea of EMDR. EMDR, simply put, is an addition to your typical treatment
process for PTSD and trauma.

First is the preparation process.
Your counselor or therapist will ask you a series of questions where they may
be looking for a history of seizures, migraine headaches, eye problems, past
head injuries, and certain brain structure neurological issues. Second, is a 28-question
survey which gives an indication on the client’s past trauma, coping skills, history
of dissociation or “tuning things out”, and or deflection of problems (i.e.,
“that’s just life”). None of these things mean the client is disqualified from
the treatment, it just means the therapist may try different approaches to the
treatment.

Once your therapist has decided on
how to make headway into your treatment, you’re as good as gold to start. The
therapist will start by taking you to a “Safe Place”. This is the basis of your
journey into your mind. A place where you feel, well, safe and calm. This place
can be real or artificial. As you make that journey into your psyche, the
therapist may ask you to go back to this place if you start to feel
uncomfortable. The process for clearing trauma targets is the same as finding
your “Safe Place”. The thing that I thought to be most profound was that
clearing these targets is not particularly done by the therapist, but you
yourself. The therapist is merely a guide through the journey.

Now, I was lucky enough to interview an intern
I work with, Sarah Viles, Master of Social Work at University of Texas San
Antonio. Sarah offered to take me through a little session of my own. Sarah met
with me in my office, sat me down and talked with me about what she was going
to do. She explained the process, what the process is for, as well as giving me
most of this information I’ve passed on to you here. Once I was comfortable and
understood everything, with a bright grin across her face Sarah lightly drops
her hands into her lap, and chipperly asks, “ready?”- and we started the EMDR.

Sarah, sitting in front of and to
the side of me, held up her hand and with two fingers in front of my eyes-
started waving her hand back and forth. This eye movement from left to right,
encourages bilateral stimulation of the brain. This bilateral stimulation works
directly on the traumatic portions of memories. It is the bilateral stimulation
that allows the two sides of brain (bi-lateral) to communicate with one another
to illicit the reprocessing portion of the treatment. She went through a series
of passes and stopped. Sarah then asked me to think of somewhere that I felt
safe, calm, and happy. We went through this process a few times, elaborating on
the scene more and more each time. The funny thing is, with each series of
passes of her fingers, the setting became increasingly vivid. Before I knew it,
I had completely relived a scene from my trip to Tulum Mexico, Tulum is my
happy place. Sarah and I, in the interest of time, did not dive into any trauma
I might have. But I had a very good idea of the process after our visit.

I think it’s important to note that
during the treatment the therapist or counselor may be paying particular
attention to certain things like, feelings, smells you might remember, even
objects within the memory. When it comes to the human mind, there is a triad of
senses that are associated with traumatic events. Thinking, emotion, and a
physical body. This means that these events are often “tied” to other
sensations, not just the memory or thought. (This is the reason why certain
smells remind us of things). Given this information, the therapist will be
looking and asking the client about these other emotions, feelings, or even
smells associated with these events. The therapist will often ask the client to
“go with that feeling”, whereby the therapist will be looking for an expansion
into the event through that sensation.

Lastly, what is happening in your
mind during this treatment? How is this working? Why is it working? Like Rapid
Eye Movement Sleep (REM Sleep), your brain is processing information. The Repetitive
eye movement becomes calming or distracting. This is what a therapist calls
desensitization, which makes it easier to recall traumatic moments. With this
desensitization comes a change or shift in the feelings of these traumatic
moments and feelings about the client’s self-worth. This shift or change is
referred to as reprocessing. I’ll reiterate two things mentioned before. That
big phrase I used earlier “bilateral stimulation of the brain”, is what’s
causing the reprocessing portion of the treatment. And the true healing comes
from your journey back into the memory. So, through this treatment, you are
treating yourself, with the help of a guide of course.

The world we live in is constantly
evolving in many different directions. Mental health and addiction therapy are evolving
right along with it. These bold treatments on the forefront of care are light years
ahead in terms of wellness. Formerly, certain traumatic events, and Military
related PTSD were terrifying and borderline untreatable. Thanks to visionaries
like Dr. Shapiro and my colleague Sarah, we see the light at the end of the tunnel.
The light grows brighter every step you take. In the thought of light, note;
there is no such thing as darkness, only less light. Coach.