In the field of psychotherapy, there are multiple techniques to address trauma-related disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or anxiety-related disorders. One of the techniques that has become most popular in recent years is EMDR therapy, designed by the American psychologist Francine Shapiro in the 1980s.
This is a type of eye movement-based psychological intervention aimed at treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other disorders related to trauma and anxiety symptoms. The acronym EMDR means in English Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, in Spanish “Desensitization and reprocessing by eye movements”.
Broadly speaking, the purpose of EMDR therapy is to reduce or eliminate the negative symptoms associated with trauma. And in this article we are going to tell you about the 8 phases to process a traumatic experience of this very interesting therapy. Do not lose detail!
What is EMDR therapy?
EMDR therapy was designed in the 1980s by Frances Shapiro, although its popularity has grown in recent years. On her theoretical basis, Shapiro hypothesized that certain types of eye movements are helpful in reducing emotional intensity caused by negative thoughts and traumatic events.
Broadly speaking, we can say that it is a type of therapy focused on the movement of the patient’s eyes; it must follow the fingers of the therapist while remembering an upsetting or traumatic event.
How is EMDR therapy applied?
- When applying EMDR therapy, the therapist follows the following procedure: bilaterally stimulates the patient through various methods, which may be of different types. Mainly, eye movements (the patient must follow the movement of the therapist’s fingers), sounds or taps are used.
- While the patient follows the movement of the therapist’s fingers, or the sounds or taps, the therapist tries to focus his mind on specific content, usually negative thoughts or traumatic memories, so that he can process them.
- Shapiro and other proponents of the technique suggest that the type of stimulation used in EMDR therapy is directed at stimulating one cerebral hemisphere.
The 8 phases of EMDR therapy and its characteristics
EMDR therapy consists of 8 well-structured phases or steps that the therapist must apply when administering the technique.
Design
The first phase of EMDR therapy is the one that includes the design of the intervention. Here the patient’s clinical history is recorded and their traumatic memories of her are noted down so that they can be worked on during therapy (what is sought is that these memories are processed).
The physical sensations associated with these memories are also collected, as well as the details of the events (colors, smells…) In this phase, the therapeutic objectives are also agreed with the patient.
Patient preparation
The second phase involves explaining the therapy to the patient. Thus, it will be explained in detail what this technique consists of, how it is applied, how it works, etc. It is a good time to clear up your doubts and to address all the aspects necessary for the patient to become familiar with the technique.
The objective of this phase is to discover whether or not the patient is a good “candidate” for this type of therapy. It also seeks to build their trust in the therapist.
Assessment
In this third phase, which already implies the implementation of EMDR therapy, the specific memory that the patient wants to work on is identified. Once identified, the patient is asked for a significant image that represents that memory. The patient must first verbalize the emotions and negative sensations associated with said memory, and later, everything positive. The positive emotions and sensations, in this case, will be used for the installation phase (which we will see later).
Recall is measured. How? Evaluating each of its elements that the person associates with said experience: emotions, cognitions, physical sensations… Later, the initial scores of VoC (validity of positive cognition) and SUD (degree of disturbance that the person feels when visualizing that experience) are recorded. image).
Desensitization
In the fourth phase of EMDR therapy, the moment of the trauma is accessed, that is, the exact moment in which the person felt the most intense negative emotions. It is important to assess here the level of disturbance experienced. The desensitization process already mentioned at the beginning of the article begins, which is when the patient must visually follow the movement of the therapist’s fingers (or the sounds or taps), while remembering the traumatic event.
The goal of this phase is to work with the memory until it no longer disturbs the person. In this phase, little by little the memory is integrated into a less disturbing narrative for the patient.
Installation of positive cognition
It is about verifying and reinforcing the positive cognition (that is, the positive memory, which includes images and physical sensations) chosen at the beginning. It is installed through the same previous processing method (bilateral stimulation), until that positive cognition acquires a higher weight than the negative cognition.
That is, until the patient believes that they can handle the situation. Thus, the objective in this phase is for the patient to assume and reinforce the sensation of control of the situation that until now blocked or disturbed him.
Body scan
In this phase, the aim is to make sure that the body is free of tensions associated with the re-experienced (and reprocessed) traumatic memory. That is, it is intended that the patient can free himself from any sensation of residual tension. Here the patient must remember the traumatic event together with the positive cognition, and proceed to a “body scan”.
Through it, the patient must attend to his body and detect at which points he feels or does not feel discomfort and/or tension. The goal is to loosen the body from any negative element or sensation. In the event that tension, discomfort, discomfort or a pricking sensation appears in any part of the body, the desensitization phase will return. If, on the other hand, everything is fine, a set of eye movements will begin to reinforce the good sensations.
Closing
In the penultimate phase, the closing phase, the patient is intended to return to a state of balance and calm (even if the reprocessing has not been completed). You are guided so that you can end the session properly and relaxation techniques are applied if necessary to return to a state of calm.
On the other hand, it is explained to him that during the time between sessions he can continue with the reprocessing. How? Attending to your emotions and thoughts; You can write them down and then work on them in therapy.
Re-evaluation
The reassessment phase is performed at the beginning of the next therapeutic session. The patient must access the event worked on in the previous session again, and it will be evaluated with him if there are still residual disturbances associated with said memory.
In other words: it will check if the results hold or not. This will be done at the beginning of each session, with the memory worked on from the previous session, to gradually work on all the negative memories associated with the trauma.
The great benefits of EMDR therapy
If EMDR therapy is applied properly, with the relevant training of the therapist (it is a therapy in which specialization is required) and the patient is motivated and collaborates, the results can be very beneficial. These will include:
- That the patient obtains a more complete vision of his traumatic history.
- That the patient has a coherent narrative of their history and trauma.
- That they integrate the trauma as part of their personal history without it generating more disturbing symptoms (or at least reducing their appearance).
- An increase in the feeling of calm, well-being and tranquility in the patient.
- An increase in energy focused on the present.
- Less attention to past history.