EMDR is a psychotherapeutic approach that is applied to a wide variety of symptomatology that hinders the patient’s emotional life. It is an approach with empirical evidence that supports it, that is to say, there is scientific evidence that proves its efficacy. It is endorsed by the World Health Organization and the International Clinical Guidelines for the treatment of trauma.
Some experiences that are lived throughout life, can be loaded with such an emotional intensity that the brain fails to “digest” them, that is, they are not processed and stored in the brain in an adaptive way. These leave an imprint that lasts over time and can be the cause of symptoms such as depression, anxiety, panic, irrational fears, among others. This is what we call trauma. EMDR works with these experiences in order to achieve remission of these emotional difficulties.
Trauma (information that is stored dysfunctionally in the brain), comes from great tragedies, as well as from everyday experiences such as childhood rejection. This information would be the cause of symptoms such as anxiety, depression, panic or irrational fears.
By addressing the emotional difficulties of patients with EMDR, we achieve desensitization and reprocessing of the traumatic information, and the consequent disappearance of the symptoms presented.
How is an EMDR session carried out?
It consists of detecting the dysfunctional information that could be hindering the emotional stability of the patient, once detected, bilateral stimulation is applied through a protocol where we proceed to desensitize and reprocess such information.
The patient notices the changes in sensations, in the first sessions where the protocol is applied. This stimulation can be visual, auditory or kinesthetic, and is applied while inferring that there is an activation of an area of the brain called amygdala, due to the connection with the traumatic event.
In summary, the current symptoms are recorded, the dysfunctionally archived information with which the symptoms are connected is sought, and bilateral visual, auditory or kinesthetic stimulation is applied through a special protocol in which the person connects with that information.
In which cases is EMDR therapy indicated?
Although the World Health Organization names EMDR as a preferred approach in cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), it is applied to a wide variety of emotional difficulties caused by trauma even if the patient does not associate it to something in particular, such as depression, anxiety disorders, panic, phobias, eating disorders, addictions. It is also used in the optimization of people’s performance in areas such as sports or art.
There are different protocols adapted to work with various pathologies.
What are the benefits of this approach?
EMDR accelerates the patient’s recovery processes in relation to other psychotherapeutic approaches, and the remission of symptoms is through a work from the root of the problem, thus being able to prevent its occurrence in the future. It has shown efficacy in conditions that are difficult to address.