{"id":3286,"date":"2025-12-11T05:10:01","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T10:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/?p=3286"},"modified":"2025-12-11T05:10:01","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T10:10:01","slug":"from-survival-to-integration-understanding-emdr-therapy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/2025\/12\/11\/from-survival-to-integration-understanding-emdr-therapy\/","title":{"rendered":"From Survival to Integration: Understanding EMDR Therapy"},"content":{"rendered":"

When we experience something overwhelming, and painful, the mind has a difficult time processing the event. The traumatic memory is then stored improperly, and the brain reacts as if the event is still happening and controlling the present. Instead of the experience being fully processed and integrated, it remains stuck in the subconscious mind without context showing up as emotional shutdown, dissociation, and anxiety.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) helps with traumatic experiences and responses including childhood trauma, sexual trauma, PTSD, prolonged stress, depression, anxiety, and emotional numbness. (EMDR) is a psychotherapeutic based therapy designed to integrate unresolved traumatic experiences and mental health issues that are challenging to describe and communicate and targets underlying causes. <\/span>During history taking, clients not only review past events, but they also cover current concerns and future goals. <\/span>(Rosseau, 2025).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It works by activating the brain’s natural healing processes to discharge trauma and emotional imprints fragmented in the mind to sort and integrate the limiting beliefs and sensations linked to painful memories faster than traditional talk therapy to reduce emotional intensity in the mind and body <\/span>by processing sensory memory.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

EMDR is a structured approach using bilateral stimulation such as eye movement to activate regions in the brain responsible for memory and emotional regulation. The prefrontal cortex responsible for decision making, logic, and self regulation is able to reconnect with the emotional centers and improve distorted perspectives; this happens when the amygdala reconnects to the prefrontal cortex to reduce fear and overwhelming sensations.\u00a0 The structure relies on <\/span>eight phases: story taking, preparation, assessment, desensitization, installation, body scan, closure, and reevaluation. (Rosseau, 2025).\u00a0<\/span> In an EMDR session, the licensed therapist will not only help identify triggers but also teach the patient grounding techniques to feel safe when sensations, thoughts, and feelings arise to empower the <\/span>patient. <\/span>During history taking, future goals are recorded to hold space for new belief patterns by visualizing healthy environments to regain stability.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Essentially EMDR accesses the ability to heal the fragmented subconscious mind that learned survival mechanisms of hyper arousal, hyper-vigilance, and other coping mechanisms that become difficult to explain when trauma impacts both the mind and body helping a trauma impacted person to-reclaim their sense of self. Van Der Kolk (2014) emphasizes agency and \u201crestoring the ownership of body and mind\u201d to envision and organize a life centered in choice, and safety.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

References:<\/span><\/p>\n

van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). <\/span>The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma.<\/span><\/i>Penguin Books.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rousseau, D. (2025). Module 4: Trauma and the Criminal Justice System. Lesson 4:3: Treatment Approaches. Boston University, MET CJ 720: Trauma and Crisis Intervention.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy<\/span><\/i>. Department of Mental Health. (2024, September 4). https:\/\/dmh.lacounty.gov\/our-services\/emdr\/\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n


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When we experience something overwhelming, and painful, the mind has a difficult time processing the event. The traumatic memory is then stored improperly, and the brain reacts as if the event is still happening and controlling the present. Instead of the experience being fully processed and integrated, it remains stuck in the subconscious mind without […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25661,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3286"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25661"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3286"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3287,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3286\/revisions\/3287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/daniellerousseau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}