As an EMDR SAFE therapist, I believe that we have the innate ability to heal and transform our lives. Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing therapy (EMDR) is a powerful evidence based intervention that reorganizes our emotional brains so we can fully experience present experiences and not be triggered by the past.
Our brains have a natural way to recover from traumatic memories and events. This process involves communication between different parts of the brain. This includes the amygdala, which alerts us during stressful events; the hippocampus, which assists in learning, and holds memories about safety and danger; and the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The PFC develops as we mature and get older, and helps us with executive functioning, analyzing, and controlling behavior and emotions, and shuts down during overly stressful events.
Some stressful responses can be managed easily, as they are a part of our natural fight, flight or freeze instincts. But some events are so stressful, we may go into a state of overwhelm and we find it hard to manage those feelings. They may even continue to arise in events when we least expect it, continuously bringing us back to that moment in time and how we felt.
EMDR therapy helps the brain process these memories and allows healing to resume. The experience is still remembered, but the overwhelm, fear or intense emotions from the original event is resolved.
