EMDR FOR COMPLEX TRAUMA AT
EMOTION WISE COUNSELLING
What is EMDR?
EMDR is an evidence-based therapy that helps people heal from difficult life experiences including PTSD, Complex Trauma, Anxiety, and Phobias.
How does EMDR Work?
EMDR therapy consists of 8 phases of therapy. Phase 1 includes history taking and making a plan for which memories will be selected for processing work. This case conceptualization may vary depending on the presenting issue, and symptoms that the client is experiencing. We often choose to work from Negative Beliefs and then select memories that connect somatically to the belief or provide evidence for that belief.
Phase 2 of EMDR therapy involves learning stabilization skills which may include mindfulness and visualizations. One of the most common stabilization exericses in EMDR is the Calm Place Exercise. Here is a video where one of our guides you through the practice of the calm place.
When conducting EMDR for Complex Trauma our therapists may spend more time in Phase 2 teaching stabilization exercises and helping clients recognize their emotions and learn how to regulate their nervous system. Often we use skills drawn from DBT (Dialectical Behaviour Therapy) in the stabilization phase to learn Emotion Regulation skills. Clients can practice these exercises at home and use anytime for nervous system regulation and to help with symptoms of Complex PTSD
At the beginning and end of a session in EMDR therapy we may offer or lead the client in the practice of one of these stabilization exercises to help the client transition back to their daily life. One of the most common exercises we use to end sessions is the Container Exercise which helps the client regulate their nervous system and in a sense, file away the traumatic experiences for exploration at a later time. In this video April Griffin MSW RSW demonstrates this EMDR therapy visualization practice.
Phase 3 of EMDR therapy involves identifying the memory, the image, the negative and positive beliefs, the emotions, the body sensations and the level of distressPhase 4-6 of EMDR therapy is most widely known as the phase involving processing trauma through the use of eye movements or another form of dual attention stimulus (tapping, sound).
Processing using dual attention stimulus helps the past memories that were previously stored in a way that triggered trauma to become stored in more adaptive ways that connects to both the mind and body and strengthens positive beliefs about one self. In doing this a person will no longer be re-experiencing the trauma in the present but feel as if the trauma is in the past.
EMDR therapy decreases nightmares, flashbacks, and avoidance of trauma-related material and improves a person's general well-being and their sense of self. In EMDR for Complex Trauma the effects can be improved relationships as someone feels less triggered in daily life and decreased emotional reactivity
There are number of theories emerging on why EMDR works so effectively to reduce PTSD symptoms. One of these theories is memory taxation- that the eye movements tax (overload) the working memory so that it cannot continue to hold the disturbing content any longer while doing multiple tasks. Think of juggling many balls, eventually one of them will drop.
Another theory is memory reconsolidation theory- in a nutshell that when we bring a memory stored in into short term memory it becomes malleable again and allow for a new way of understanding. When a mismatching experience occurs from previous experiences of the memory (for example feeling calm, while bringing up a difficult memory instead of panicked) the nervous system interprets this is a new adaptive way.
Most likely it is a combination of these theories that helps us understand the power and effectiveness of EMDR.
Does EMDR work for Complex Trauma?
YES! There is significant evidence that EMDR is an effective therapy for helping with symptoms of complex PTSD. Our therapists are trained in working with Complex Trauma using a variety of different therapies and approaches including parts work, DBT, the Flash Technique and mindfulness and compassion approaches. They may adapt standard protocol of EMDR for Complex Trauma and also spend time working with clients to develop and identify coping skills for emotional regulation.
We place a significant emphasis on building trust between the therapist and client and ensure client choice and collaboration when doing trauma work together.
We provide online therapy and in-person EMDR therapy in our downtown Vancouver office.
To book a session with an EMDR therapist today please contact us.
Read Further about EMDR Therapy:
How EMDR Therapy Heals Sexual Assault