“EMDR can help any individual that has gone through distressing events that have caused impairment in their daily functioning.”
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a structured therapy that was initially used for the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) but has since expanded to treat other manifestations of trauma.
In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the social consciousness of collective trauma and individual traumas have turned many toward forms of healing. But where and how might EMDR fit into one’s healing journey? We sat down with Junie Abito (LMFT), who breaks down EMDR as a viable practice for coping with difficult life experiences and triggers.
Who are you, and what do you do?
My name is Junie Abito. I am a first-generation Filipino-American, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and the founder-director of Rose Junie Therapy, with offices in Echo Park and Long Beach, California. I have a Masters in Clinical Psychology and have over 10 years of experience working with individuals, families, and couples that suffer from complex trauma, depression, anxiety, and relationship challenges.
I am trained in EMDR–eye movement desensitization reprocessing, which is a therapeutic intervention used to treat anxiety, panic attacks, post-traumatic stress symptoms, phobias, identity crises, and other traumatic experiences. I see couples and individuals in our group practice and render EMDR-intensives as an adjunct to regular talk therapy.
Rose Junie Therapy is a multidisciplinary clinical team of licensed psychotherapists and associates from different cultural backgrounds that render evidence-based treatment to individuals, families, and couples in California.
What is trauma? How does it affect people?
Trauma is a distressing emotional response to a disturbing event that overwhelms a person’s ability to cope. Trauma can cause feelings of fear, helplessness and impacts a person’s sense of self. In EMDR, we often talk about Big Trauma (“Big T”) versus Little Trauma (“Little t”). “Big T” is a type of trauma that can leave an individual feeling helpless, powerless, fearful, and unsafe in their environment. Examples of “Big T” include sexual trauma and life-threatening events.
“Little t” traumas are events that impact our ability to cope on our own and cause disruption in our emotional functioning and being. Examples of a “Little t” include divorce, loss of a job, legal challenges, and prolonged stress.
Research has shown that repeated exposure to “Little t” traumas have been found to cause more emotional harm and damage than a single exposure to a “Big T” trauma, meaning that when we are functioning at our minimal selves and are exposed to distressing events repeatedly, this can cause more harm physically and emotionally.
The pandemic is a prime example of “Little t” trauma that has been traumatic for a lot of people. We lived in a state of uncertainty, and most of us worried about our health, family, work, finances, and overall safety. To this day, we are functioning in a trauma-response state, and thus we are still trying to figure out how to cope and keep our heads above water.
Trauma can impact a person’s ability to cope, function normally with activities of daily living, and can cause physical responses in our bodies. This may include fatigue, inability to have rested sleep, headaches, as well as diminished or famished appetite.
What is EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy technique used to treat anxiety, depression, PTSD, and more. Trauma and other symptoms are treated by reconnecting the traumatized person in a safe and measured way to the images, self-thoughts, emotions, and body sensations associated with the trauma, and allowing the natural healing powers of the brain to move toward adaptive resolution.
Many of my clients use EMDR to heal from trauma. However, most of my clients use relational EMDR to change unwanted patterns of limiting beliefs, decrease triggers that arise in relationships, and update both overdeveloped and protective parts, and coping mechanisms learned in childhood.
EMDR has 8 phases in its treatment process. A typical EMDR session lasts about 60-90 minutes, depending on the type of problem and life circumstances. During EMDR therapy, your therapist will work with you to identify a specific problem or memory as a focus for the treatment session. As you recall this memory, your therapist will ask you what you think and feel as you remember it. Your therapist will then invite you to follow a side-to-side movement with your eyes. These eye movements are used until the memory you have becomes distant and less distressing, so new positive thoughts about yourself can emerge and be matched with the original issue or memory. After reprocessing is complete, they will be just the story of what happened without the disturbance.
Why does EMDR work in treating trauma?
EMDR taps into our brain differently than regular talk-therapy. Through EMDR, individuals safely reprocess traumatic information until it is no longer psychologically disruptive. For most people, most memories tend to be stored as just the story of what happened with few vivid images. Memories of stressful and traumatic experiences can be stored in the brain with vivid pictures, sounds, thoughts, feelings, and body sensations. EMDR reactivates these different parts of disturbing memories and allows the brain to reprocess the experience. This is what normally happens in REM or dream sleep. That is why we wake up feeling differently about experiences from the day before that were still upsetting when we went to sleep. The bilateral stimulation (BLS) that we use in EMDR Therapy helps the brain to reprocess the way information is stored in the brain. It is your brain’s own ability to heal that will be doing all the work, and you are in control.
How does EMDR work in the brain?
During painful life events, a lot of the memory is stored in its unprocessed form in our hippocampus. These trauma memories are easily triggered, leading to symptoms and distress. Bilateral stimulation helps you get unstuck, so you are able to process and digest that memory in a safe way.
EMDR takes the particular memory out of our long-term memory and puts them in our working memory, in the now. The therapist brings up the memory with all of the components which I call “The Triad”–thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations. The therapist then accompanies that with bilateral stimulation.
Research shows that our bodies will heal themselves over time. The brain can rewire itself. Let’s say we get a splinter on our hands. If left alone, sometimes our bodies will work it out. However, sometimes the splinter gets stuck–EMDR is a tweezer and can remove the splinter, so the body can heal itself naturally.
Who can EMDR help?
Anyone and everyone! EMDR can help any individual that has gone through distressing events that have caused impairment in their daily functioning. EMDR can be used as an adjunct to regular talk-therapy to help change unwanted patterns of limiting beliefs, decrease triggers that arise in relationships, and update both overdeveloped, protective parts and coping mechanisms learned in childhood.
What would you say to anyone who might be on the fence about signing up for EMDR therapy?
First and foremost, it is a-okay to feel overwhelmed and a bit anxious about starting EMDR. This is normal and is part of the process. When you are ready, reach out and ask questions! Most therapists offer a free consultation so that you are able to inquire about EMDR therapy. There are also a lot of social media channels from trained EMDR therapists who talk about the effectiveness of EMDR and how it has helped their clients.
You can also follow us on Instagram at @rose.junie_therapy so you can be up-to-date about the EMDR process and how to get started with treatment.
Salamat!
Junie Abito (LMFT) and her team offer psychological services through their website, www.rosejunietherapy.com. In addition to Instagram, you can keep up with Rose Junie Therapy on TikTok @rosejunie.therapy.
I never heard of EMDR until now. I enjoyed reading this blog and learning about what EMDR is and how it helps treat trauma. It sounds like a very interesting approach to how to rewire our brain to cope and heal from past trauma. It sounds like an effective therapy/treatment for people who suffer from trauma.
Wow, who would have thought that adding such a simple action to one’s treatment can have so many positive effects! Before this read, i had no idea this approach even existed. I had previously studied the significant impact of entering Deep REM sleep to release emotional stress, almost like a form of detox. It’s actually quite genius to make that bridge between the two and incorporate it into therapy! This article is such a good read and i hope people becomes more aware of this treatment.
As a person that has suffered from “big t and little t” trauma, this was a refreshing read. It gives me peace of mind knowing that more awareness is being brought to these topics. Thank you for all the work you are doing in this field Rose June!