When the New Year arrives at our doorstep, it often brings a rush of intention and energy along with it. But for many people, this wave of good intention sometimes peters out quickly. By February, we wonder what happened to all those good intentions, and whether the Chinese New Year (celebrated February 1st) might be our second chance to get out of the gate. When Spring Break hits, and there’s still little progress to show, a tendency to throw up one’s hands and let habits hang out for just one more year can quickly settle in.
But what if change weren’t all about sheer willpower? What if there was a way to work with our brain, to speed healing and transformation, and remove obstacles to growth? This is one of the many possibilities of EMDR therapy. EMDR, an abbreviation for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a well-researched and road-tested approach to helping individuals process past hurt and trauma with the assistance of a trained therapist and their own neural connections.
In short, EMDR is a practice of guided re-framing and re-programming of challenging or traumatic memories from our past, the traces of which still inform not only how we feel, but at times, how we behave or react to particular stimuli. EMDR therapy proceeds through eight distinct phases, which include (among others) history taking, preparation, reprocessing, and re-sensitization. The eight phases do not always equate to eight sessions; depending on the complexity of the issue and the client’s needs, the phases can be addressed in less or more than eight sessions. It always involves bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements, tapping, or sounds, to help the client’s brain reprocess memories that it brings up intentionally or through association.
If this sounds intriguing or helpful, you are in luck. A quick search via Psychology Today's website indicates that there are over 100 practitioners available to Huntsvillians either in person or online that have training in EMDR therapy. One local practitioner, Stephanie Cashin of Huntsville Integrative Therapy, uses EMDR as a powerful and effective tool to help clients move through their healing process as efficiently and comfortably as possible. Cashin stresses that her model of successful practice is not retaining clients indefinitely but finding the most effective practices to empower clients toward more joy, freedom, and autonomy in their healing journey.
If you are considering the use of EMDR as a therapeutic practice, Cashin suggests inquiring about a mental health provider’s training with EMDR while discerning how and with whom you’d like to engage. Practitioners can use an EMDR-informed approach, which might use some aspects of the EMDR method but present a more informal or hybrid approach in practice. Other practitioners are trained in aspects of EMDR but have not gone through a certification process. And some professionals are certified in EMDR by the EMDR International Association (EMDRIA), a professional body that offers connectivity, education and certification through training to mental health providers around the world.
Cashin also points out that as Huntsville expands, people who look to improve or fine tune their emotional health might consider approaching therapy providers in a similar fashion to medical providers when it comes to specialization. As the city grows, it’s becoming possible for a therapist to refer a client out to another practitioner who is certified or specialized in a modality that could benefit the client while working on a particular issue. Similar to the relationship between a General Practitioner and a Specialist, a client might return to their therapeutic home base once that specific course of treatment draws to a close. EMDR is just one of the many healing modalities available through the devoted and informed care available in the Tennessee Valley.
Cashin is certified through EMDRIA and began offering EMDR to her clients about four years ago. Since then, she’s watched clients utilize EMDR to aid in the re-processing and healing of trauma in multiple forms, from critical incidents to negative and detrimental feedback loops at play in a client’s conscious or subconscious over years and decades. While EMDR might be most recognized as a treatment to help those struggling with PTSD, a certified EMDR therapist has access to specific protocols used to support the treatment of challenges ranging from specific phobias- Cashin says fear of flying is a referral she sees often- to addiction, OCD, eating disorders, severe stress, and anxiety.
Kelli, a local writer and mother of two teenagers, sought out an EMDR therapist in the area to work on a particular and persistent issue that had not been resolved after years in traditional “talk” therapy. Kelli described her desire to get past what felt like a “block” when it came to her relationship with food, which in turn affected her experience of connection, or a lack thereof, to her own body. She hoped working with an EMDR trained therapist could improve her emotional connection to food and eating, and support steps toward better long-term outcomes in her own wellness journey.
She describes the first few EMDR sessions as “tough,” requiring her to re-visit some difficult memories of the past as she made the first series of associative memories to begin her healing journey. After these challenging first steps, Kelli described immersing herself in the process, allowing the associative memories to present as needed and working with her therapist to stay with the memory and re-program as needed. After the initial memories were integrated, she commented that it felt like a block was removed, and the rest of the process moved forward “like a waterfall.” Kelli’s experience of EMDR allowed her to release old memories and well-worn patterns in order to grow and respond differently in her relationship to triggers, obstacles, and frustrations that previously short-circuited her wellness goals.
Laurie, an outdoor enthusiast and recent Huntsville transplant in her early 50s, looked for an EMDR trained therapist when navigating challenging emotions and triggers around family relationships and transitions. Her practitioner focused heavily on the bilateral stimulation of the brain through auditory processing, in which stimulation occurs through a clicking mechanism delivered through ear buds. The Huntsville-based therapist she worked with introduced tactile stimulation as well, administered through the palms of the hands using little devices known as tappers or pulsators. These devices vibrate or pulse in an alternating left-right pattern, stimulating both sides of the brain and inviting the person holding them to slip into a state of almost wakeful dreaming that mimics the REM phase of sleep.
Laurie's experience, similar to Kelli’s, was extremely positive. Both women pointed to a sense of empowerment through the process; the therapist’s use of EMDR taught each woman how to access past hurt or trauma and re-process these experiences from the standpoint of their competent, adult self. Laurie commented that with EMDR, you begin to understand how to allow your higher self to help heal trauma or challenges in the past, both with the therapist and beyond. Bessel van der Kolk, a Harvard-trained psychiatrist and well-known author, refers to this specific aspect among EMDR recipients in his book The Body Keeps the Score:
One man reported: “I remember it as though it was a real memory, but it was more distant. Typically, I drowned in it, but this time I was floating on top. I had the feeling that I was in control.” A woman told us: “Before, I felt each and every step of it. Now it is like a whole, instead of fragments, so it is more manageable.” The trauma had lost its immediacy and become a story about something that happened a long time ago.
As we ease into a New Year, it’s a wonderful time to take inventory of the tools and support available to achieve our goals and speed our own healing and wellness. EMDR is one of the treatments sanctioned by the Department of Veteran Affairs for PTSD, and many practitioners are integrating the use of EMDR into their practice to support the healing and integration of past hurt while also helping to minimize reaction to current triggers in the process. If you think you or someone you love could benefit from EMDR, reach out to one of the many available practitioners in the Tennessee Valley, some of whom offer services both in-person and on-line, to learn more and expedite bringing your best, most whole self forward this new year.
What if there was a way to work with our brain, to speed healing and transformation, and remove obstacles to growth?
I remember it as though it was a real memory, but it was more distant. Typically, I drowned in it, but this time I was floating on top. I had the feeling that I was in control.