What Is EMDR

EMDR is a powerful therapy usually used in the treatment of things such as PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Although it's primarily used in these fields, it also has quite a bit of effectiveness at dealing with addiction as well. The main commonality to this alternative therapy treatment is trauma, and this applies to addiction just as well as it does to trauma-based mood disorders. Addiction is usually co-occurring with one of these mood disorders, which is something that not all people are aware of. Becoming aware of this makes it so that this treatment can have particular effectiveness at recovery from addiction.

In this post, we're going to look at what this treatment is and how it's used in treating addiction.

What is EMDR?

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is an eight-phase treatment that identifies memories that overwhelmed the brain's natural ability to cope and so has turned into traumatic symptoms and/or unhealthy ways of coping with the memories. The traumatic symptoms can be anxiety, flashbacks, and depression, and some unhealthy ways of coping with these symptoms are self-destructive behavior as well as addiction to drugs or alcohol. Using this therapy, patients can reprocess traumas until they're no longer psychologically distressing.

In a session, there's first an in-depth preparatory phase that includes getting a detailed bio of the patient. During the rapid eye movement part of the therapy, a patient will focus in on a psychologically distressing memory along with the feeling that that memory makes them feel. This is usually a negative feeling. Then, the patient is told to come up with a positive feeling they would like to have about themselves. All of the physical manifestations and emotions are identified before the therapy occurs.

The person will then go over the memory while looking at something in a way that creates side to side eye movement. After each of these bilateral movements, the patient is asked how they feel. The treatment continues until the patient no longer feels uncomfortable. The thought is that the patient will be able to process the trauma with both hemispheres of the brain stimulated, effectively dislodging the memory from where it's hiding. The positive belief is then installed in the person, again using bilateral movement to cement the belief. It's believed that this works by allowing both hemispheres of the brain to work together and allow one side to soothe the other.

During the course of this process, patients tend to process the memory in a way that gives them a peaceful resolution about it. For instance, a rape victim will come to the conclusion that there wasn't anything they could've done differently and that it wasn't their fault. They can, as a result, return to having a positive image of themselves and a positive image about the world around them.

It's believed that this therapy affects the brain in the same way that REM sleep does, allowing the traumatic memories to be processed in a coherent, positive way that allows the patient to retake control of their lives and understand their pain within the context of their greater struggle.

How is it used in treating addiction?

The way that this therapy factors into addiction is through the reprocessing and recalibration of traumatic memories. If it's accepted that having traumatic memories and experiences is at least one of the causes of addiction, then this therapy can have a particularly positive effect. Doctors have gone from regarding this therapy as a technique to regarding it as a therapy in its own right. It's an hour-long therapy that factors into the healing of emotional wounds both leading to emotional distress and leading to addiction as well.

It's been seen by doctors who themselves have suffered through addiction that the condition is caused and exacerbated by traumatic memories that have gone unprocessed. If these traumatic memories are not dislodged and dealt with in the proper way, then they pose the risk of exacerbating emotional pain and, as a result, relapse for the addict.

However, practitioners should not assume that the dislodging of emotional wounds and conquering of addiction is a straightforward path. All too often, the practitioner will focus on what they believe is the cause of addiction and plow straight ahead. They need to understand, however, that trauma memories do not operate in a straight line, and just when you think you've dislodged one it can come screaming back to the surface. The world of this therapy and addiction therapy is rarely simple and straightforward. It requires patience and discipline for a practitioner to be successful.

Proper addiction treatment through this therapy requires knowledge of trauma as well as knowledge of addiction. One can't be used at the expense of the other, they must both be used in conjunction with each other in order to be successful. There has to be an understanding that addiction and trauma don't occur in a vacuum. They are often comorbid.

Many people who come in with an addiction problem have a diagnosable case of PTSD, in which case this therapy is the first line of treatment. This therapy can be more of like a lens through which to see the rest of the trauma case. It shouldn't be seen as simply wagging your finger in front of a person's face, but more of like a treatment model that takes time and effort. This therapy is a process that can't be rushed.

EMDR is a powerful therapy usually used in the treatment of things such as PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Although it's primarily used in these fields, it also has quite a bit of effectiveness at dealing with addiction as well. The main commonality to this alternative therapy treatment is trauma, and this applies to addiction just as well as it does to trauma-based mood disorders. Addiction is usually co-occurring with one of these mood disorders, which is something that not all people are aware of. Becoming aware of this makes it so that EMDR can have particular effectiveness at recovery from addiction.