Understanding the Model Behind Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy
Before beginning the journey of EMDR therapy it can be helpful to have some understanding of the theory behind it. If this piques your interest, there is a plethora of information out there on this theory, from Francine Shapiro’s book to a simple google search. Here I’ll just be offering a brief introduction, hopefully in a digestible way.
EMDR therapy is rooted in a theory called the Adaptive Information Processing model (AIP). AIP suggests that we as humans have a naturally self-healing way of organizing our experiences so that we learn and grow from what’s useful and let go of what is maladaptive. Under the right conditions, our bodies and minds naturally heal.
“Inherent in the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model is the concept of psychological self-healing, a construct based on the body’s healing response to physical injury. For instance, when you cut your hand, your body works to close and heal the wound. If something blocks the healing, such as a foreign object or repeated trauma, the wound will fester and cause pain. If the block is removed, healing will resume. A similar sequence of events seems to occur with mental processes; that is, the natural tendency of the brain’s information-processing system is to move toward a state of mental health. However, if the system is blocked or becomes imbalance by the impact of a trauma, maladaptive responses are observed.” (Shapiro, 2018)
So if we are naturally oriented towards self-healing, why do we so often get stuck? When a person experiences trauma, there is a waterfall of neurophysiological responses that our brain and nervous system experience (e.g. spikes in cortisol, adrenaline, other neurotransmitters; going from fight/flight into freeze/collapse/dissociation) that cause that memory to be stored incorrectly in the emotional and survival centers of the brain. The emotions, sensations, images, beliefs, and thoughts from the trauma get “stuck” in a memory network that is isolated from the self-healing networks, and the person continues to react to the world as if they’re still experiencing the traumatic event from the past. And what makes it even more challenging is that our brain starts to make associations to other situations that make us feel similarly to the unprocessed trauma: “Ah, see? Here is even more proof that I’m unsafe/powerless/unloveable/can’t trust/etc.”
OK, recap: humans have an adaptive information processing system that helps us make sense of our world, learn from experiences, and heal and grow. The complicated survival reactions that our brain and nervous system have when we experience trauma causes the memory processing to get blocked (like a foreign object in a cut), and healing becomes difficult. So how does EMDR propose to help?
EMDR utilizes a mechanism called Bilateral Stimulation (or Bilateral Dual Attention Stimulation) that appears to bridge the gap between the stuck trauma memory network and the adaptive information processing network. EMDR triggers a physiological state that helps unblock the processing of the memory so that it can be encoded properly in the brain where it belongs: in the past. In short, something about EMDR helps link the maladaptive information to the updated adaptive information. It’s like an update to the operating system. EMDR is not about changing the past or changing memories, it is about changing how the memory is being stored in the system now.
Another metaphor to explain the AIP and EMDR is a train traveling along its route: the train represents the unprocessed memory network that carries dysfunctional sensations/emotions/beliefs/images (passengers) and EMDR moves the train down the tracks. As the train travels down the tracks with the Bilateral Stimulation, it makes stops along the line and drops off some dysfunctional information (e.g. “I can’t trust and I’m unsafe” and picks up some adaptive information (e.g. “That was painful but it’s over now, I’m safe”), like passengers disembarking and others getting on at each stop. As the process continues, the positive perspectives, feelings, and sensations become more available as the memory gets integrated into the person’s long-term memory networks.
At the Personal Transformation Institute where I trained in EMDR, they would say: “Anything that keeps you from being a shining star is either a memory or a lie.” When traumatic memories get stuck in these maladaptive networks, they can keep us from being the shining stars that we are. EMDR is one of many wonderful therapeutic approaches out there that can help us return to our natural healing capacities and being a shining star.
Shapiro, F. (2018). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (Emdr) therapy: Basic principles, protocols, and procedures. The Guilford Press.
