The question I hear most often: What is happening in my brain during EMDR therapy? The person in my office is often smiling and laughing when they ask, relieved with the change in the way they feel. A pain they have carried around is gone, and they feel like a different person. They want to know what just happened!
How Your Brain and Body Respond to this Approach
The EMDR part of a therapy session starts when you are thinking about an event, a feeling, a thought. I guide you through eye movements (or other activity). Reprocessing is happening when the physical eye movement is giving the brain a chance to safely return and re-adjust to something disturbing. It begins to heal that emotional wound. The eye movement is allowing your brain to recall without reacting.
Once the brain recalls and reprocesses this wound, you are desensitized to the incident and reminders of it. It’s not gone forever from memory but it doesn’t affect you the same anymore. You just don’t react to it the same way. And you have healthier thoughts about the incident and yourself. You feel more strong and more positive. When this is reprocessed/desensitized it links to other responses and feelings you’ve had (many are connected) and they no longer suffer.
I also help you instill positive feelings and absorb them so you are more resilient than ever. Because the brain and body are connected we keep going until your body and the brain are completely in sync with that message. Otherwise, sometimes we can tell ourselves something but it doesn’t stay with us.
Want to Explore More about EMDR?
Could EMDR be right for you? Who does it work for? Find out more about EMDR Therapy.
