EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a leading evidence-based treatment for trauma and loss. Below is a simple explanation, written by EMDR consultant Kriss Jarecki, ACSW, LCSWR, that’s easy to understand.
“We digest experiences like we digest a sandwich. The experience comes to us by our senses first (hearing, sight, smell, etc.) like eating a sandwich comes to us in seeing it, smelling it, etc. Our brain takes bites of the experience and digests it (we think about it, feel about it, learn from it, etc) just like we take bites of a sandwich and it goes through digestion to nourish our bodies.
What if the situation we are experiencing is too upsetting or we are too young to know what to do with it? This is similar to what happens it we take too big of a bite of the sandwich. The experience, like the bite of a sandwich can get stuck. The experience can upset us and not digest well like too big a bite of the sandwich can cause a stomachache or other issues. For the sandwich, we might take Tums or an ant-acid and laxatives to help process it. With the upsetting experience we have a cool therapy that can help get the stuck stuff unstuck. It’s like “Drain-o” for the brain, and it’s called EMDR.”
For additional information, checkout Focus On The Family’s article here. Or contact me to see if EMDR therapy might be a good fit for you or your child.