One of the unique parts of EMDR is that it uses bilateral stimulation (BLS) as a modality for treatment. When EMDR was developed, back-and-forth eye movements were used to facilitate the process. Now this can include back-and-forth tactile stimulation through hand-held buzzers or tapping on the knees. During EMDR, you safely recall disturbing memories while BLS is applied.

We are naturally sensitive to our traumatic memories because they are emotional, sometimes scary, and difficult to think about. They can even make us feel like we’re reliving the trauma. I call these memories “charged”. Desensitization means working directly with a traumatic memory to make it less “charged”.

After desensitization, the memory still exists, but it effects us much differently. It feels less disturbing, or even not disturbing at all. This happens when the neural networks that contain the memory “link up” with other networks which give us access to our most positive, adaptive, and current ways of thinking.

When we experience trauma, our brain does not process the memory correctly. Normally, memories are like papers that are filed away neatly and only retrieved when necessary. With trauma, it’s like the papers were never filed. They might appear at any time, even when not necessary, and sometimes in intrusive ways that are hard to manage. Our brains naturally want to file away memories, but with trauma, this process is blocked.

Reprocessing is about un-blocking our brain’s capacity to undergo the filing process. EMDR gives your brain an opportunity to do what it naturally wants to do, and it finds places for the traumatic memories to be stored where they won’t continue to cause the same amount of suffering and disturbance as they have been.