How EMDR works
01
EVALUATION, REGULATION AND LIFELINE
The assessment phase is crucial to understanding the client’s history and creating a personalized treatment plan. We also need to make sure to stabilize your most pressing distress and regulate your emotions before moving on to the application of EMDR.
02
LOCATION OF EMDR TARGETS
The " targets " are the points of disturbance that we will focus on during EMDR therapy. These can be episodes, experiences or stages in your life, as well as thoughts that still trigger your brain and nervous system with symptoms of disturbance. It is important to have carried out a good assessment to identify these targets, as they are often not the ones we initially assume. I will prepare a report and a personalized intervention design for you , and together we will decide what the "targets" are.
03
EMDR REPROCESSING
To achieve your goals, we will use the EMDR protocol, which includes the three types of Bilateral Stimulation (auditory, tactile and eye movements) at the right times and with the right words.
Thus, I will guide you in the visualization and narration of the different aspects of your experience, which will allow you to experience a new sensation and perception of memory, of yourself and of your thoughts .
In addition, you will notice how the symptoms become desensitized , all with security, confidence and well-being .
Auditory
Eye Movements
Tactile
Bilateral stimulation is a technique that consists of applying auditory, tactile or ocular stimuli in a rhythmic and alternating manner while speaking, following a rigorous work schedule to ensure its effectiveness.
This technique is based on theories that explain its effectiveness, such as the activation of the brain's orientation reflex to resolve conflicts or blockages, the relaxation of the brain's amygdala to regulate the danger or alert response to threatening stimuli (talking about certain topics can feel like this) and the synchronization of brain areas for information processing, similar to what happens during the REM phase of sleep.
It has been shown that the electrical activation of the brain changes very significantly before and after EMDR therapy:
Normal activity after EMDR
Excessive activity when activating the disturbance
The 3 pillars of EMDR
In EMDR, we believe that emotional, psychological or somatic suffering originates from an "unhealed wound" that affects us deeply.
Just like physical wounds, these emotional wounds can "hurt," but they can also rob us of vitality, joy, peace, love, and health.
With EMDR, we can work on healing these wounds, even if we do not know their origin , to achieve the regeneration and healing necessary to recover our emotional health.
An event can be considered traumatic when its emotional intensity is high and it also occurs at a time of vulnerability.
In these cases, the experience may be poorly or poorly processed, which can lead to the adoption of limiting beliefs about ourselves and life in general.
With EMDR, we can release trapped information and allow the brain to process trauma in a more objective and adaptive way.
We start with the sensations in the body, apply EMDR and allow the brain to do its work .
The goal is to reduce the emotional intensity associated with past experiences, releasing the energy you consume while maintaining "normality."
Our brain finds a way to keep ourselves and our family system safe in the face of adverse circumstances, which is known as survival mode.
However, when the danger no longer exists, our nervous system remains active, which can become a disturbance.
By reprocessing with EMDR, a feeling of greater space and energy is generated within you .