Just as positive feelings are available to you, so too are negative feelings of old memories stored in your nervous system. When you bring up a safe place, you experience the pleasant feelings; when you bring up the old memories, you will experience the disturbing feelings. Disturbing events can be stored in the brain in an isolated memory network. This prevents new learning from taking place. The old material just keeps getting triggered over and over again. In another part of your brain, in a separate network, is most of the information you need to resolve it. It’s just prevented from linking up to the old stuff. Once we start processing with EMDR, the two networks can link up. The outcome of an EMDR session causes the linkup of the two networks - that is, the assimilation of painful material into its proper perspective - which is, that it belongs in the past. New information can now come to mind and resolve the old problems. When this disturbing material is unlocked and allowed to process, the reservoir of negative emotions is drained along with it. You don’t immediately go from intense negative to profound positive affect or cognitions. Rather, the information is changed progressively as more material is integrated. Regardless of how disturbing the emotions might be as they come up, nothing negative is being put is - instead, it is being released.
Any unpleasant sensations that may arise during treatment are simply a sign of the old stuff leaving the nervous system and present no current danger to you. It is meant to be liberating.
Think about EMDR as a tool for taking old traumatic memories and updating the information by moving it into normal memory files where the experience is handled as an event that is:
1. over
2. no longer threatening
3. capable of change and
revision with new information.
Although unpleasant pictures, sensations or emotions may come up as we do the eye movements, you can stop the process whenever you want by simply raising your hand. It is best to allow the eye movements to continue as long as possible but if things feel too rough, we can stop for a rest. The idea is that if you want to drive through a dark tunnel quickly, you keep your foot on the accelerator. If you take your foot off, your car slows down and coasts. So, to get through unpleasant emotions, keeping the eyes moving will get us through more quickly. As we do the sets of eye movements, try to remember that we are only processing old stuff. It may feel real, but it’s just old memories locked in the nervous system. Just because you feel fear, does not mean that there is a real tiger in the room. The idea is to let the brain become unlocked and let the information process through - and be neutralized.”
1. Combat veterans i.e. from Desert Storm, Vietnam War, Korean War, World War 11 veterans who were formerly resistant to treatment and who no longer experience flashbacks, nightmares and other PTSD (post traumatic stress& disorder) symptoms
2. Persons with phobias and panic disorder revealed a rapid reduction of fear and other symptoms
3. Crime victims and police officers who are no longer disturbed by the aftereffects of violent assaults
4. People relieved of excessive grief due to the loss of a loved one or due to line-of-duty deaths, such as engineers, no longer devastated with guilt because their train unavoidably killed pedestrians
5. Children healed of symptoms caused by the trauma of assault or natural disaster
6. Sexual assault victims who are now able to lead normal lives and have intimate relationships
7. Accident, surgery and burn victims who were once emotionally or physically debilitated and who are now able to resume productive lives
8. Victims of sexual dysfunction who are now able to maintain healthy sexual relationships
9. Clients at all stages of chemical dependency as well as pathological gamblers, who now show stable recovery and adecreased tendency to relapse
10. People with dissociative disorders who progress at a rate more rapid than that achieved by traditional treatment
11. People engaged in business, performing arts and sports who have benefited from EMDR as a tool to help enhance performance
There are more controlled studies on EMDR than on any other method used in the treatment of PTSD. In fact, there are only 6 other controlled studies (excluding drugs) in the entire field of PTSD
Step 1: image. I will ask you to think of a place where you would feel safe. It can be real or it can be imaginary. It can be a place to which you’ve been or a place to which you’d like to go. A place that you can easily summon - someplace that creates a personal feeling of calm and safety. Tell me when you have it in mind.
Step 2: Emotions and sensations. (I’ll ask you, now,
to focus on that image.)
Notice what it’s like to be in this
place. Look around. What do you see? Listen.
What do you hear? What do you feel? And just notice what
it’s like to feel safe.
Step 3: Enhancement. Use soothing hypnotic tones to enhance the imagery and affect. Convey a sense of safety and security. Let me know when you feel the emotions.
Step 4: Eye movements. The positive response is further expanded by a series of EM. During a single set of eye movements lasting about 30 to 45 seconds, say, “O.K., focus on the image of that place that feels safe and calm. Concentrate on where you feel the pleasant sensations in your body and allow yourself to enjoy them. Now, concentrate on those sensations and follow my fingers with your eyes. Just notice what it’s like to feel safe. And do a few more sets. How do you feel now? If feedback is positive, say, “That is your safe place. You can go there anytime during the session you need to feel safe.”
If the client does not feel safe or the response is uncertain, then ask, “what would make it more safe?” The answer may be, “Locking the door,” or “Having my friend with me.” Then say, “Imagine that,” and do another set of eye movements. Again ask client how s/he feels. If not feeling safe, consider another grounding technique or re-evaluate readiness of client to proceed with EMDR.
Step 5: Cue word. Now, identify a single word that fits the picture e.g. “relax”, “beach”, “mountain”, “trees”, etc. Rehearse that mentally as pleasant sensations and a sense of emotional security are noticed and follow my fingers with your eyes.
Step 6: Self-cueing. Repeat the procedure on your own, bringing up the image and the word and experiencing the positive emotional as well as the positive physical feelings. Now, you can use this exercise to relax on you own, during times of stress.
Step 7: Cueing with disturbance. To emphasize what we just did, bring up a minor annoyance and notice the accompanying negative feelings. Then, guide client through the exercise until the negative feelings dissipate.
Step 8: Self-cueing with disturbance. Bring up a disturbing thought once again. Follow the exercise on your own, without my help, to its relaxing conclusion.
Disclaimer: Only licensed professionals or those under direct supervision of licensed clinicians should attempt to use the above procedure. This caution is important as it should be used only within the context of a complete treatment plan and with the appropriate safeguards of which trained clinicians are schooled to be aware.