Beyond Trauma: The Many Potential Uses of EMDR Therapy

Since its inception in the 1980’s, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing or “EMDR” has become the gold standard for treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Highly researched and published, this intervention is endorsed by organizations like the American Psychiatric Association, the World Health Organization and the Department of Veterans Affairs as an effective therapy for trauma and its associated symptoms. 

Finding an intervention with EMDR Therapy that is clinically proven to reduce the painful challenges associated with PTSD has been a life changer for countless people around the world. And having this evidence-based tool available to clinicians has enabled them to offer their clients relief in a way that no other treatment can.

As we observe the amazing healing that EMDR can facilitate, many have come to wonder if it could be helpful with other areas of struggle as well. Knowing how this therapy can desensitize pain points, break associations with previous negative life events, and completely reestablish how someone sees themselves, surely there may be other applications for the modality.  And with its reputation for being gentler in its approach, faster acting than other treatments, and long lasting in its results, the potential for EMDR is expanding rapidly. Though it is not yet researched in its totality, therapists across the globe are finding EMDR exceptionally helpful in addressing a wide host of struggles that present themselves in the therapy room. 

Here we will explore other conditions that may benefit from the gift that is EMDR Therapy:

EMDR Therapy for Depression: 

Many characterize depression as fixation over what has happened in the past. Though symptoms like helplessness, hopelessness, and motivation are very much in the present, what causes those feelings are often deeply rooted in the lives we’ve led up until now. Experiences that caused us pain and have, for whatever reason, not been effectively digested or processed, continue to plague us in the day-to-day. 

By specifically targeting the negative beliefs about self that are created through these aversive life experiences (e.g. “I’m not good enough,” “I am unlovable,” “I will never find happiness”), EMDR can help redefine someone’s perception of self and correct these very real but very irrational thoughts. It can also significantly ease the sting of memories and sensations associated with the events that created the negative beliefs.

EMDR Therapy for Anxiety: 

As opposed to depression, anxiety is often thought of as a preoccupation with what may happen in the future, and more importantly, lack of belief in one’s ability to manage it. This fear can often create what feels like an unbreakable loop of obsessive thoughts about worst case scenarios and unthinkable outcomes. 

What many do not realize is that this fear had a starting point, an event or series of events in which the world became a dangerous place and only by being hypervigilant could we ensure our survival. By targeting negative self-talk like, “I am not safe” or “I am incapable” the brain can gently revisit the origin of its self-doubt in order to release that fear and create a new way of perceiving. These distressing thoughts can then be replaced with more adaptive thinking like, “That is behind me now” or “I can handle it” creates the foundation for a much more positive and empowering outlook.

EMDR Therapy for Grief: 

Healing from grief is a non-linear journey, and unfortunately the only way passed is through. It is not the absolutely normal or human process of grieving that typically drives people to therapy, though. It is what grows into something called “complicated grief” where the symptoms are highly prolonged or debilitating and do not seem to be showing signs of subsiding. 

Oftentimes it is not the loss itself that hinders the grieving process, but one’s belief about their role in it. Again, thoughts like “It’s my fault” or “I didn’t do enough” stop the healing process in its tracks and cause layers of suffering far beyond what one may experience by the loss itself. EMDR Therapy does not skip the grieving process, it simply removes the unfair and illogical obstacles standing in the way of recovery. This allows the ache to dull enough so that the lost loved one can be remembered with peace, joy, and gratitude.

EMDR Therapy for Phobias: 

Phobias are anxieties related to a specific trigger, like flying, insects, heights, or even swallowing. These fears can stop people from engaging in important activities and impact their lives in a way that makes their world smaller and smaller. Phobias are linked to intense emotional memories and tend to respond well to the techniques employed by EMDR. 

By directly targeting the touchstone memory, the negative thoughts attached to it, and even the bodily sensations experienced during exposure to the dreaded object or activity, this fear can be dramatically reduced or eliminated entirely.

EMDR Therapy for Addictions: 

The root of addiction is commonly an emotional pain that one becomes desperate to escape from. By treating the addiction as not only something that needs to be addressed directly, but also as a symptom of a deeper struggle, EMDR Therapy goes right to the root of the suffering that made substance use a desirable diversion. 

In addition, EMDR can target the very impulses and urges that can become so insurmountable during the throws of deep addiction. Whether it be smoking, illicit drug use, or even shopping, understanding the etiology of the problem and targeting its associated symptoms can be a highly effective vehicle of change. 

EMDR Therapy Can Help You Move Forward

Most importantly, EMDR helps people to escape the binds from the past that entrap them, embrace the strength and calm they have within them now, and discover the potential they have for a beautiful future. The approach is non-confrontational, non-judgmental, and meets clients where they are at on their personal journey to healing. If you have any questions about EMDR or if it might be right for you, call us today for a free consultation at 954-391-5305!

For more information about Sara Speed and her counseling services and EMDR Therapy, click here. Sara provides counseling for adults and first responders at our beautiful offices in Plantation, Florida and offers online therapy via our secure telehealth platform for those who reside in Florida.