Preparing for your first EMDR session
What is EMDR and how does it work?
I have heard so many of my clients say things like..
“Even though I logically know that I’m safe, my body doesn’t believe it.”
“Everyone keeps saying “it’s not your fault,” but I can’t shake the feeling that it was”
“I have been talking to my therapist for years and even though I understand my trauma, I still get triggered and emotional when I think about it years later.”
Makes sense. All trauma comes with a side dish of shame. Talking about trauma is helpful in making sense of something horrible that happened, but if we’re healing trauma, we have to include the body and the nervous system. Trauma doesn’t just happen to our minds.
Trauma changes our relationship with ourselves, the way we move through the world, who and if we can trust.
Trauma affects every system and process in the body. Trauma affects our body hormonally, chemically, and physically.
When we’re healing from trauma, we have to address the body sensations, behavioral impulses that get stuck in the body, emotional responses, identifying which parts of the event were traumatic, and naming the shame belief that is connected to the trauma. Thoughts only address the behaviors and emotions - not the unprocessed, activated energy that is playing on a loop in the nervous system.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a style of therapy that involves stimulating both hemispheres of the brain through eye movement or audio tones while intentionally bringing up a traumatic memory.
The eye movement is calming to your nervous system and prevents you from entering into fight, flight, freeze response.
Eye movement helps the brain bypass the defenses that keep you from healing and reprocess the event from a place of safety. After reprocessing the memory, when asked to recall the traumatic memory, you won’t feel charged with emotions, body sensations, or shame. Additionally, you will feel free of the grips of the memory, shame, and emotions. Some people even report less back pain, autoimmune flareups, and less bracing in the body.
How to prepare for your first EMDR session:
At Empower, we offer virtual EMDR sessions, which allow you to do EMDR from the comfort of your home. The beauty of meeting from your home is you get to curate your experience and surroundings. We’re a big fan of bringing ritual and intention into your trauma work.
When preparing for EMDR, here are some ways to set up the area you are doing your session.
Set up a laptop or computer (cell phones can be used, but it’s much more pleasant to use a computer).
Surround yourself with comfort. Think blanknets, essential oils, a cozy pillow, and a cup of tea
Carve out 30 minutes before an after session to recalibrate and reflect on your experience. Your therapist may have some suggestions for thingns to do after session to tend to your nervous system.
Demystifying the process:
EMDR is an 8-Phase Protocol that addresses your trauma from the past, present, and future. Knowing what to expect can be helpful for trauma survivors, so if you’re uncertain about the process or have questions, always ask your therapist!
Phase 1: History Taking and Treatment Planning
Phase 1 is all about getting to know you, and working together to plan the plan of action. Your therapist will ask you about your support network, how you take care of yourself, and your history. You will also go through a process of determining what memories you’d like to process. Your therapist will tell you all about EMDR and answer any questions you have about the process.
Phase 2: Preparation and Resourcing
Phase 2 is all about preparing your body and brain for processing trauma by installing “resources.” Resources are places of safety and calm within yourself that can be accessed using meditation, visualization, aroma therapy, or body-oriented exercise. This stage is all about making sure you feel safe, comfortable, and grounded as you go into Phase 3.
Phase 3: Assessment
Phase 3 is where you will identify the event you’d like to process and the negative beliefs , images, emotions, and body sensations.
The next 3 phases are the “reprocessing” stages of EMDR which will involve some kind of bilateral stimulation (eye movement, audio tones, or tapping). Remember, the bilateral stimulation is the technology that allows you to move through trauma while staying anchored in the moment.
Phase 4: Desensitization
Phase 4 is where you will intentionally bring up the traumatic memory along with the shame beliefs, emotions, and body sensations all while following the eye movements or listening to audio tones. This will happen until the memory is desensitized. It’s not uncommon for new imagery, sensations, emotions, and thoughts to surface during this phase.
Phase 5: Installation of a positive belief
Phase 5 happens after the memory has been desensitized. In this phase, you will install a positive belief that will become associated with the traumatic memory.
Phase 6: Body Scan
Phase 6 ensures that the memory is cleared from the body. You will be asked to bring up the memory and the positive belief and scan your body for any residual trauma, which will then be reprocessed out of your body until you feel clear.
Phase 7: Closure/Debrief
Phase 7 is where you and your therapist will debrief, chat about how your experience was, and do grounding exercises to close the session.
Phase 8: Future Scripted Template
Your therapist will ask you how the positive belief you installed during phases 4-7 might serve you in a distressing, future scenario. Phase 8 is about continuing to reprocess and anxiety, body sensations, or shame that is left from Phases 1-7.
After your first EMDR session, you might experience…
Vivid dreams (this is a good thing because it means your brain is continuing to reprocess!)
Remembering events and people from the past with more detail
Increased sense of awareness
Buzzing or vibrating sensations
Feeling freedom and more space in your life
You deserve more than to be hijacked by your trauma.
We hope this helped demystify EMDR therapy for you and give you a roadmap to the process of healing from trauma. Empower Marriage and Family Therapy is a trauma-informed practice. Our therapists are trained in EMDR, and body-oriented therapy and would love to support you on your journey to healing your trauma. Email or text us with any questions or to book your free consultation
sara@empowertherapyandcoaching.com
415-712-6827