EMDR is a psychotherapy technique that releases the emotions of painful memories from the past as a result of stimulation of the right and left brain lobes and contact with each other. The right brain is the region where the emotions of painful memories are recorded. These sections in the right brain; hippocampus, hypothalamus and amygdala. The left brain is our logical side. In other words, it is the part of us that gives meaning to the events we experience and can look at them more realistically. By establishing contact between these two parts, EMDR enables the painful memories stored in the right brain to be processed in the left brain. The negative emotions caused by these processed memories are no longer felt after EMDR.
EMDR is performed with eye movements, lightly touching the knee, voice or a slight vibration in both hands. What all of these techniques have in common is to stimulate the right and left brain synchronously. I often use all of these at the same time in my therapies. The greater the interaction between the right and left brain, the faster it is for the person to contact the negative memory and process the traumatic memory.
EMDR is not a therapy technique in itself, it is one of the auxiliary techniques used in psychotherapy sessions. My session experience is that emdr is one of the best techniques for processing traumatic memories. While applying EMDR, the person establishes a direct connection with the traumatic memory he experienced in his adult life or past.
The miracle of EMDR does not erase the memories of the past, and it is not possible to delete any memory in the brain. There is no such therapy technique, emdr allows the emotion of the past memory to be processed. You continue to remember the traumatic memory you experienced, but you no longer feel the negative emotions you felt in the traumatic memory.
How is Emdr applied?
During the study, the person is stimulated synchronously by asking the person to focus on the scene, thought and body sensation that is troubling him. is given. I use the Emdr device for this. The aim here is to discharge the emotion, relieve the physical sensation, and change the negative belief. For example;
The emotion of traumatic memories; fear, disgust, worthlessness, inadequacy, powerlessness, lovelessness, emptiness, meaninglessness, helplessness, skepticism, shame. , feeling like there's a lump in your throat, feeling like there's a stone in your stomach...
Bodily sensations: abdominal pain, dizziness, heart constriction, inability to breathe, teeth clenching, tremors in your legs, cramps in your feet, heaviness in your back, abdomen pain, nausea, tingling in the body, numbness, burning in the hands and feet, weakness, fatigue, …
Negative belief; I am weak, helpless, inadequate, not safe…
The scenes of the traumatic memory begin to appear before the client's eyes in the form of photographs. These photographs that the client sees contain records of emotions, physical sensations and thoughts. These are explored with the client by continuing to provide stimulation. Then the emotion of the traumatic memory begins to slowly drain away. While the emotion of some memories is released in a single session, some memories require several sessions of work.
I offer Emdr therapy to clients whom I deem suitable for this therapy, and if the client accepts, we start Emdr work. If EMDR is done together with dynamic psychotherapy, it provides permanent change in the client. The process of EMDR therapy varies from person to person.
How is Emdr Duration Determined?
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Age at which trauma was exposed: As the age decreases in the traumatic memory, the damage caused by the trauma increases. Emdr therapy takes longer for people with a lot of early trauma, especially those aged 0-6.
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Duration of trauma; The longer a person is exposed to trauma, the greater their psychic division becomes. For example; If a child has been harassed by his uncle for 10 years, his EMDr therapy will take a long time. However, if he was humiliated once by a teacher in primary school, the therapy period will be shortened.
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The trauma is caused by someone you know; Being traumatized by someone that a person trusts, loves, and has a high emotional investment in causes much more severe damage than being traumatized by a stranger.
Psychological Disorders Where Emdr is Applied
EMDR is applied together with dynamic psychotherapy to solve many mental and physical problems. Depression, migraine, obsession, anger management, panic attack, social phobia, test anxiety, anxiety It can be integrated into the psychotherapy session for problems such as erectile dysfunction and vaginismus.
Emdr Safe Place
Before starting the Emdr study, clients are made to do a safe place study. Safe place work means that the client remembers a memory in which he felt good in his childhood and makes contact with the emotion, physical sensation and positive thought of that memory.
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