Understanding EMDR Therapy: A Comprehensive Guide to Its Benefits and Techniques

Treating issues like PTSD, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, phobias, panic, performance anxiety, and complex childhood trauma can be a complicated process requiring a delicate set of techniques to find full recovery. So many of our clients come in feeling hopeless that things will change, however often leave feeling hope and relief knowing there is a therapy that can help. EMDR is a model of therapy that has countless protocols to treat each individual where they are at and for the unique problem they are coming into therapy with. When working with a trained EMDR therapist, individuals are carefully assessed, educated, given the opportunity to build new coping resources, and supported through the entire 8-phase EMDR process. The benefits from “doing the work” are countless and the techniques to get there are profound.

3 Benefits from doing EMDR Therapy

The list of benefits could go on and on when it comes to EMDR therapy. Three in particular stand out: sleep, mood, and living with purpose.

Finally I Can Sleep

My phone chimed. It was a text message from an individual I had seen the day before for an EMDR session. Working through a horrific work call, this First Responder shared with gratitude, “I slept through the night for the first time in 4 years.” It was one of those texts that make your week as a therapist and one of those experiences that make your LIFE as a client. 

Many adults suffer from sleep disruption, insomnia, and/or nightmares. Being prescribed sleep aids, trying all the meditations and following the tightest sleep hygiene routines often fail, but EMDR stands out as a remedy to regain deep, restorative sleep. Although sleep can initially become disrupted while a person is in the midst of “clearing a target” with EMDR, oftentimes sleep will be where the work continues. Individuals often report more dreaming, recalling themes or direct correlation to the work they started in the therapy office. You might say the dreaming post EMDR sessions is free therapy where your brain is continuing the work, attempting to make sense of and move the unresolved material into long term memory. Once a target is cleared sleep often times is regained and better than before. It isn’t always immediate like the example mentioned earlier, however for many people, doing EMDR does eventually give them back their ability to rest and recover through sleep.

An All Around Better Mood

Unresolved past issues often tamp down emotion. “I don’t feel anything” is a common phrase I hear in sessions. This numbing occurs for many people who have endured the unthinkable. Avoidance is one of the main ways people tolerate what they have witnessed or experienced. 

Don’t think about it. 

Don’t talk about it. 

Drink. 

Have Sex.

Spend money. 

Eat. 

Sleep. 

Drive fast. 

Party. 

Isolate. 

Avoid at all costs. 

This is a way your brain works to self protect. If you avoid something that hurts to remember, maybe it won’t all feel so bad. The problem with this is that when the “negative” emotions are shut down, down go the positive ones with them. EMDR therapy helps the individual to face the past, desensitize to it, make sense out of it, and tuck any important learning away into their long term memory bank for future use.. When the past is allowed to be honored and resolved, up bubbles the positive emotions. Many people claim to have feelings of happiness and joy return, deeper gratitude, and more ease and relaxation after targets are cleared with EMDR therapy. 

Living with Purpose

“How are you doing? How has your last week been?” asked the therapist.

“It’s been a good week! I went across town to see my good friend Sam and had some dinner. It was nice to catch up with her,” the client replied.

Pleasantly surprised, the therapist retorts, “So you’re telling me you just drove across town? Just like that, you got in the car and drove yourself to meet up with Sam?”

“Oh, I guess so. Woah, I didn’t even realize I wasn’t panicking about the drive. I just did it. It’s like I felt normal again,” stated the client with an exhale of relief.
This is a common response after an individual completes a target with EMDR therapy. We like to say it’s in the absence of the trigger that you find relief. Although the desensitization and reprocessing phases of EMDR can be activating and distressing, the following weeks are often experienced as lighter, more full of ease, and often people report they feel more like themselves again. Being able to live with purpose and intention is often restored and life feels a whole lot better. 

Two Techniques Used in EMDR Therapy

There are many different techniques used in EMDR therapy. Two stand out that help individuals zoom in on the problem and move the distress into freedom.

The Float Back Technique

“What if I don’t know what my problem connects to?” This is a common concern I hear in therapy. In order to do the full 8-phases of EMDR therapy it’s necessary in phase 3 to identify what the client will specifically target. The Float Back Technique is a way for the therapist and client to hone in on the crux of the issue and the thread that holds it all together. In the third phase of EMDR the client is prompted to consider their present situation and what is problematic about it. Once they have narrowed in on their identified problem, they uncover the beliefs they hold about themselves or the world, the feelings and the physical sensations that go along with it. Holding these three things in their mind the therapist prompts them to allow their mind to “float back” to an earlier time when they recall this belief, feeling, and sensation. The memories, no matter how big or small, surface and reveal themselves as the relevant, oftentimes, unresolved sticking points that need to be desensitized and reprocessed. By uncovering the thread of past experiences the client and therapist now have a road map for healing and more awareness of the underlying hooks that have kept them stuck and hurting for so long.

Butterfly Hug 

EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (BLS) to desensitize and reprocess distressing, unresolved experiences. One way to conduct bilateral stimulation is called the Butterfly Hug. This is where the individual crosses thor hands over top of the other and places them on their chest, just below the collarbone. You can choose to interlock your thumbs or lay your hands flat on your chest in the shape of a butterfly, alternating between the right and left hand, lifting them up and down as if they were the wings of a butterfly tapping back down on your body. This back and forth sensation is felt through the body and serves to activate both hemispheres of the brain, allowing for desensitization and reprocessing when done at a swift pace and allowing for peace and relaxation when done at a slow pace. This method of BLS is effective in individual therapy as well as group therapy. 

Additional Therapy Services at Sage Leaf Wellness

At Sage Leaf Wellness, we believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to heal and live a fulfilling life.EMDR therapy in Saint Paul, MN, is just one of the many tools we use to support your journey toward mental and emotional well-being. In addition to EMDR, we offer a range of evidence-based therapeutic techniques designed to enhance your mental health and overall wellness. Our team recognizes that each person's journey is unique, so we provide various therapy options tailored to individual needs. Our services includeAnxiety Therapy,Trauma Therapy,Marriage and Couples Counseling, and more. Let us assist you in finding peace and empowerment through our comprehensive therapeutic practices.