Raise your hand if you know someone struggling with depression. Raise your hand if you yourself are struggling with depression.
Over the last few years, the occurrence of depression has significantly increased. Given the state of the world, that shouldn’t be surprising. Chances are, everyone probably knows someone who is dealing with depression right now.
EMDR
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a neurobiological technique used by clinicians to target life events, childhood traumas, triggering events, and negative thoughts or memories.
It coincides with the AIP model or the adaptive information processing model. Per AIP, the things that happen to us tend to lead our internal dialogue. If stored in a harmful way in our brains, these memories will lead to obstacles in successfully living daily life. With that comes a reduced quality of life over time.
Through EMDR, a clinician will try to return the brain/body to a level of homeostasis. Something normal, if you will.
The Main Steps
A therapist or clinician will ask you about your history and get to know your background, both personally and medically. They will try to identify any symptoms or triggering thoughts to form a plan for treatment. Once the baseline is established, they will discuss how the treatment works and what to expect moving forward. Different options to address the maladaptive coping process currently used are also explored. You two will then collaborate and select a memory to start targeting for reprocessing. This can be a singular memory, a recurring theme, or a thought pattern. Don’t worry if you don’t know where to start…your therapist or clinician is trained in exactly this.
Finally, the EMDR will start to desensitize you to that thought by using bilateral stimulation. You will be instructed in specific eye movements while focusing on this thought, and they will simultaneously use finger or hand movements. The goal is to disassociate you from the negative hold that thought has over you. You won’t necessarily forget about the thought being targeted, but you will be able to place it in a place of less importance. If the treatment works effectively, it will help improve your quality of life by easing your mental pain.
The Relation To Depression
EMDR research started with its use for PTSD treatment. There has been evidence showing positive outcomes with other psychological issues. PTSD deals with a single traumatic event and the not-so-favorable thoughts/feelings that arise in the aftermath. Depression also stems from negative or overwhelming life experiences. Some of these experiences can also be traumatic. So the tie-in here can be significant. Being able to identify the cause of the depression and reprocess how a person deals with those experiences can be helpful in overcoming the negative aspects.
EMDR Takeaways
Studies have shown time and time again that EMDR can be quite effective for depression or other psychological disorders. The long-term effects are still to be fully researched, but it has been demonstrated to positively impact multiple types of depression in the immediate time frame. EMDR is worthwhile for chronic depression as well as a major depressive disorder. The benefit is real!
Studies have also shown positive outcomes with patients where other therapy methods may not have worked. This further proves the power that this method can hold. More research is being done in various areas of the use of EMDR.
If you or a loved one are struggling with depression, consider EMDR as a path to improved quality of life. If this sounds like something you are interested in exploring further, reach out to us for a more in-depth discussion. Contact us for a free consultation.
Learn more about Depression Therapy and EMDR Therapy in CO. Serving Boulder, Longmont, Denver.
