Understanding EMDR Therapy

The Eight Phases

Phase 1: Client History and Treatment Planning

• The therapist evaluates the individual’s case, including his ability to tolerate exposure to distressing memories. Therapists will then create the treatment plan based on the individual’s symptoms and behaviors that need modifying.

Phase 2: Preparation

• Initial consultation establishes a therapeutic relationship with the client and provides education on EMDR therapy. The therapist will also teach the person self-control techniques, which are ways to cope with distressing memories that arise.

Phase 3: Assessment

• The individual will choose an image to represent each memory, noting the negative beliefs and physical sensations that accompany these memories. The patient will then identify a positive thought to replace the negative beliefs.

Phase 4: Desensitization

• Desensitization involves reducing the individual’s upsetting reactions to the traumatic memory, including physical sensations they have when thinking of it. These may include a rapid heart rate, sweating, or stomach problems. Desensitization happens by the therapist facilitates rapid eye movements while focusing on the traumatic event.

Phase 5: Installation

• The focus is to install positive thoughts the individual identified in phase 3.

Phase 6: Body Scan

• A meditative technique in which a person scans his body from head to toe to notice the physical sensations. During EMDR, the therapist will target these physical sensations for further processing.

Phase 7: Closure

• Each session will end with the therapist stabilizing the client using the self-control techniques discussed in phase 2.

Phase 8: Reevaluation

• Review conduction takes place for the best treatment effect and to check out additional targets and traumatic memories.

EMDR and Substance Use Disorder Therapy

Many individuals with substance use disorder (SUD) struggle with an inability to cope with emotions from a traumatic event.

Because of this, drugs and alcohol become a way for the individual to escape distress or discomfort. Unfortunately, those traumatic events include childhood abuse and neglect.

PTSD is a mental health disorder after witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event.

Some traumatic events that can cause PTSD are:

• War
• Physical or sexual assault
• Serious accidents
• Sudden loss
• Natural disasters
• Physical, emotional, or mental abuse

Some symptoms of PTSD include:

• Flashbacks
• Nightmares
• Emotional numbness or outbursts
• Hyper-vigilance
• Trauma avoidance
• Panic attacks
• Insomnia

The increase of developing PTSD symptoms in adulthood comes from chronic emotional, physical, and sexual abuse and neglect in childhood. Often, the childhood trauma is from home in constant crisis because one or both parents are struggling with addiction.

Unfortunately, many individuals fail to realize their unrealized trauma contributes to their SUD.
The bottom line is that individuals who have experienced trauma are a significant factor in developing a SUD.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy can help someone cope with their trauma, provide life coping skills, and maintain their mental health.

The brain and emotional body appear to work similarly to wound healing. In other words, they both can heal and give off warning signs of an infection. EMDR therapy helps clear any trauma-processing blocks and brings mental and emotional relief.

What the Research Tells You

EMDR therapy delivered to individuals experiencing an immediate and intense mental health crisis shows significant improvement in the individual’s likelihood of having continued problems.

Most individuals receiving EMDR therapy take less than ten sessions to cope with the traumatic event entirely. Excitingly, this provides an individual with the tool to move forward and leave the past behind while learning effective coping strategies as life progresses.

This technique has prevented admissions into mental health hospitals, reduced anxiety-related medical issues, decreased suicidal thoughts, cost savings, and reduced drug use.

Most participants in EMDR treatment required less than ten sessions to improve their emotional and physical responses to their trauma significantly.

For example, anxiety levels lowered by more than 50 percent, and post-intervention was down by more than 75 percent.

Lessened PTSD, depression, and suicidality are also an excellent reward for the hard work of EMDR therapy.

This technique allows individuals to:

• Manage their lives better
• Provide emotional stability
• Remove the need for drugs and alcohol to cope
• Invite personal growth opportunities.

Overall, the research supports a trauma-focused approach as an intervention, suggesting EMDR therapy as a recommended treatment to reduce PTSD, suicidal ideations, anxiety and depression, and trauma.

Moving forward, the actual implementation of EMDR treatment for SUDs and many other devastating issues is critical.

Continued Success

EMDR is currently mainly intended to treat PTSD from a traumatic event. However, although this therapy is in the infant stage compared to treatment like CBT, EMDR is also effective in other areas.

EMDR treatment prevents avoidance and promotes growth in a positive direction for you.

As many as 90 percent of trauma survivors have no PTSD symptoms after just three sessions: some as many as twenty. Each person is different and is affected differently by EMDR.

Most importantly, your well-being and healing are the priority. Not only is EMDR shown to be effective immediately, but it also has shown its benefits to persist over time.

Of course, not everyone seeking help for a substance use disorder is a candidate for EMDR. It is an intense therapy that takes an average of eight sessions to heal compared to years when just talking it through effectively. A good example is driving a car representing your healing at about 100 miles per hour.

The best individuals for EMDR participating in SUD treatment are:

• People ready to work through trauma
• People who are committed to staying the duration of the treatment
• People who are mentally and emotionally stable.

This therapy is done in conjunction with traditional SUD treatment and should be considered a supplemental approach. With EMDR therapy, the ability of the mind to heal and process information is impressive.

The transformation you could have from depression, anxiety, and drug and alcohol use to suppress memories and emotions to quick insights and positive thinking could be fantastic.

There is a program for you that will bring on this transformation. Help yourself reach your dreams by calling us today at (405)583-4390. We are here to help you start your journey to positivity and success!

Sources

[1] Finding Rehab for Complex PTSD and Substance Use Disorder (SUD)-abtrs.com

[2] Veterans and Substance Abuse-abtrs.com

[3] EMDR therapy: Benefits, effectiveness, and side effects (medicalnewstoday.com)

[4]Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing: A Conceptual Framework – PMC (nih.gov)

[5] Self-Medicating to Cope with Trauma: How EMDR Therapy Can Help in Substance Abuse Treatment | For Better | US News

Have Questions About Addiction Treatment? Give us a call at (888) 906-0952