What is EMDR?

EMDR stands for Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. I encourage you to explore this video explaining the EMDR process.

EMDR is the gold standard intervention for individuals with trauma and can also help heal anxiety. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation to stimulate both hemispheres of the brain to process trauma. This bilateral stimulation is traditionally eye-movement, but can also be done via sound, vibration, or tapping. The brain becomes “stuck” when a traumatic event occurs and even though, logically, we may know the event is over, the event is stored in active memory and can be easily triggered. Bilateral stimulation can help the brain heal because it can allow the left and right brain to communicate and access the part of the brain that gets “stuck” which is typically difficult to retrieve during standard talk therapy.