What Is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy is an evidenced-based psychotherapy treatment for people to address and recover from traumatic experiences and painful memories. EMDR therapy sessions usually follow a well-defined eight-phase process. It starts with an assessment and preparation phase, where the EMDR therapist learns about your background and helps you build skills to reduce emotional distress.
EMDR therapy focuses directly on difficult memories while you are simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation, such as guided eye movements. This helps your brain process the trauma so it feels less overwhelming. Unlike regular talk therapy, you won’t have to go into detailed discussions about your traumatic experiences to begin the healing process. Instead, EMDR therapy helps your brain heal naturally by integrating these traumatic memories and other distressing life experiences into a more adaptive outlook.
As you continue with EMDR therapy, you may find that you react less emotionally to traumatic events, have fewer negative thoughts, feel more positive beliefs about yourself, and become more resilient. Some sessions might bring up strong feelings, but your therapist will be there to support you and offer techniques to help you feel safe. Over time, EMDR therapy can help lessen the weight of traumatic events and empower you with improved emotional regulation to manage routine stressors in your everyday life.
To learn more about EMDR therapy, contact Balanced Mind of New York to schedule a free, 15-minute consultation.
What Is Bilateral Stimulation (BLS)?
Bilateral stimulation is a key component of EMDR therapy that involves alternating stimulation of the right and left sides of the body or brain. This can be achieved through various methods, including side-to-side eye movements (following a therapist’s hand or light bar), alternating auditory tones through headphones, or tactile stimulation such as alternating taps on the knees, hands, or using handheld buzzers. The rhythmic, back-and-forth nature of bilateral stimulation appears to help the brain process information and emotions in a way similar to what occurs naturally during REM sleep.
During EMDR Therapy, bilateral stimulation is combined with focusing on traumatic memories or distressing thoughts, helping the brain reprocess these experiences in a less emotionally charged way. This dual-attention approach, where the person simultaneously focuses on the traumatic memory while experiencing bilateral stimulation, appears to facilitate adaptive information processing. Scientists believe this process may help the brain store trauma memories in a more functional way, reducing their emotional intensity and making them less likely to trigger distress when recalled. The mechanism appears similar to how the brain processes experiences during sleep, particularly during the REM phase when eye movements naturally occur.
What Are the Different Types of Bilateral Stimulation (BLS)?
Visual Bilateral Stimulation
This BLS technique entails following an object or light moving horizontally from side to side with your eyes while keeping your head still. This can be done with a therapist moving their finger or a light bar that has moving lights. The movement is typically smooth and rhythmic, allowing the eyes to track naturally without strain. This is the most commonly used and researched form of bilateral stimulation.
Tactile Bilateral Stimulation
This type of BLS employs alternating physical sensations on either side of the body. This can be achieved through tapping on alternate knees, holding vibrating paddles or buzzers, or using a device that provides gentle pulses to alternate hands. This tactile stimulation method is particularly useful for people who have difficulty with visual tracking or prefer a tactile approach. The sensations are typically gentle and rhythmic, creating a soothing pattern of left-right stimulation.
Auditory Bilateral Stimulation
Auditory stimulation involves alternating sounds between the left and right ears. This can be accomplished using auditory devices, such as headphones, that play tones, clicks, or music that moves from one ear to the other in a rhythmic pattern. Some therapists use specially designed audio recordings that incorporate this bilateral element. This method can be especially helpful for people who process information better through auditory channels or who find visual tracking challenging.
Combined Bilateral Stimulation
EMDR therapists may use two or more types of BLS simultaneously, such as visual tracking combined with alternating taps or sounds. This comprehensive approach can potentially enhance the therapeutic effect by engaging multiple sensory channels at once. The combination is carefully calibrated to maintain a coherent rhythm across all stimulation types, ensuring they work in harmony rather than creating sensory overload.
What Are the 8 Stages of EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is structured into eight distinct stages, each designed to guide individuals through the process of healing traumatic memories effectively and safely. These eight stages include:
History-Taking and Treatment Planning
Your EMDR therapist at Balanced Mind of New York garners a holistic understanding of your unique history. This includes identifying traumatic memories, mental health symptoms, and future goals for treatment. This phase establishes a road map for your EMDR therapy sessions, ensuring that your personally distressing memories and mental health conditions are addressed.
Preparation
Your EMDR therapist explains a typical EMDR session, builds trust, and teaches you coping strategies to manage distressing memories, such as relaxation techniques or mindfulness exercises.
Assessment
During the third phase, Assessment, the targeted memories are identified, along with the associated negative beliefs and chosen positive belief. The emotional and body sensations related to the memory are examined to establish a baseline.
Desensitization
During this phase of EMDR therapy, you will focus on the targeted memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation, such as guided eye movements or tapping. This helps to reduce the emotional intensity of the memory over time.
Installation
The fifth phase of the EMDR process continues by reinforcing the desired positive belief. Your EMDR psychotherapist works with you to strengthen connections between the targeted memory and the chosen positive associations, fostering empowerment and emotional growth.
Body Scan
Using a technique referred to as “body scan,” you will be guided to observe any lingering body sensations or physiological arousal related to the traumatic memory. If any uncomfortable physical sensations remain, additional bilateral stimulation may be used until all the physical sensations feel neutral.
Closure
The EMDR session concludes with ensuring that you feel stable, regardless of whether trauma resolution was achieved. The EMDR psychotherapist prioritizes emotional balance at the end of each session, ensuring you end each session with minimal emotional distress.
Reevaluation
At the start of subsequent sessions, your EMDR psychotherapist at Balanced Mind of New York reassesses progress toward your goals, ensures that previous trauma memories have been processed, and identifies new traumatic events to process as needed.
Which Mental Health Conditions Are Treated with EMDR and Bilateral Stimulation?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a versatile and highly effective therapeutic option for individuals facing various mental health challenges. Initially developed to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, its benefits have expanded to include those dealing with anxiety, depression, and other conditions related to distressing life experiences. Individuals who feel overwhelmed by memories of past trauma may find significant relief through EMDR.
This approach is appropriate for individuals of all ages, including children, who may have difficulty processing emotions related to complex trauma. The therapists at Balanced Mind of New York customize the therapeutic process to meet each person’s unique needs, empowering them to regain emotional equilibrium and address trauma effectively.
Is EMDR Therapy Effective?
A significant body of research and clinical trials has established the effectiveness of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. Many clients have reported improvement after only a few sessions. EMDR treatment is endorsed by reputable organizations, including the American Psychological Association, World Health Organization, and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as a leading approach for trauma treatment. The structured yet adaptable nature of EMDR allows it to be tailored to the specific needs of individuals, enhancing its utility as a therapeutic option.
EMDR provides a compelling and innovative method for addressing and processing trauma, empowering individuals to regain control over their lives and achieve a more balanced state of mental health.
How Do I Pay for EMDR Therapy?
At Balanced Mind of New York, we offer multiple payment options to fit your needs and budget.
In-Network Insurance Provider:
Balanced Mind is proud to be an in-network provider for clients covered by Aetna, Cigna, Oscar, and Oxford insurance plans.
Out-of-Network Insurance Provider:
For all other insurances, we provide superbills for reimbursement. We will contact your insurance company to confirm your eligibility and benefits, including the reimbursement rate for each session. We will also guide you through the process of sending superbills to your insurance.
If you have an out-of-network plan, any reimbursements will be sent directly to you from your insurance provider. Insurance typically reimburses 50-80% of the fee, but note that each policy is different.
Self-Payment Options:
If no insurance coverage is available, clients may choose to pay for services out of their own pocket. If you need to pay out of pocket, we offer a sliding scale as part of our commitment to providing affordable care.
We accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, and HSA/FSA cards.
Learn More About Bilateral Stimulation and EMDR Therapy
Please contact Balanced Mind of New York to schedule an appointment and take the first steps on your healing journey.
