When our daughters are struggling with issues of mental illness or addiction, there is little doubt about what our primary purpose becomes as parents. That is to help our daughter recover by any means necessary. Often, those means come up short. That is nobody’s fault. Nobody’s child is helped by all mental health modalities. The lack of success so far simply means that a suitable modality or combination of treatments has not been found yet. That is why if something isn’t working, we as parents keep on trying new types of treatments and new recovery methods. This can often include trying something called eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR).

Understanding Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy

For many of us, the first time we hear “eye movement desensitization and reprocessing” we think of something that must exist in science fiction. The truth is that the name of this therapy is quite the mouthful. However, the process of EMDR is actually much less complicated than its name lets on.

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), EMDR is “A structured therapy that encourages the patient to briefly focus on the trauma memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation (typically eye movements), which is associated with a reduction in the vividness and emotion associated with the trauma memories.” In other words, it is a therapy that aims to access certain memories so the negative thoughts and feelings surrounding those memories can be diminished.

Ultimately, EMDR is not much different than other psychotherapies like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). Just like EMDR, these therapies aim to get to the underlying issues causing negative behavior patterns. It just so happens that EMDR utilizes the science of brain repatterning to do so.

Who Is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy For?

How common are the mental health issues that EMDR can treat? According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), “It is estimated that more than one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness (57.8 million in 2021).” When it comes to the question of who EMDR is for, that rather staggering statistic suggests that it can benefit a wide variety of people.

However, just because EMDR is effective across a broad spectrum of mental illness does not mean that it will be effective for all of those individuals. Instead, there are certain mental health disorders that EMDR is particularly effective in treating.

These include anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and substance use disorders (SUDs). One of the reasons for this is that many of those disorders have their roots in trauma. As we’ve mentioned, EMDR is particularly effective in addressing trauma.

The Benefits of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy

When it comes to the benefits of EMDR, the particularly good news is that there are rarely any reports of physical or long-term side effects (a small portion of people have reported headaches and muscle tension). Ultimately, there is very little risk in at least trying EMDR if it is available and a viable option.

The following are just a few of the benefits offered by EMDR:

  • It is particularly effective in treating issues of trauma.
  • EMDR has also been shown to effectively retrieve traumatic memories that have previously been repressed.
  • People have reported experiencing higher levels of self-confidence and a better sense of self after using it.
  • Especially for adolescents who have trouble verbally expressing themselves, it requires very little communication.
  • EMDR tends to show particularly rapid results.

The Limitations of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy

Now, just like other treatment modalities, EMDR does have its limitations. Some of these limitations are as follows:

  • For some individuals, bringing up certain traumatic memories can feel too intense.
  • EMDR is not always accessible and affordable for some people.
  • It can arouse vivid and sometimes anxiety-inducing dreams.
  • Some professionals feel that EMDR hasn’t been in use long enough to accurately assess its efficacy.
  • Other professionals are wary of EMDR because there is still some speculation on how it exactly works.
  • Reviving certain memories can make some people feel overly vulnerable.

The Recovery Mission at Clearview

Here at Clearview, we offer EMDR as part of our extensive offerings of treatment modalities. We have observed it to be a highly effective form of treatment for many of our students. However, it has also been ineffective with some students. That is okay because we never use a one-treatment approach for any of our students.

At Clearview Horizon Girls Academy, we always create customized recovery plans for each of our students. We also closely monitor those plans so we can make changes when certain treatments are not as effective as we would like. By doing this we ensure the best chances for our students’ recovery. As previously mentioned, just as with our own daughters, our primary purpose is to help our students recover by any means necessary.

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR) is often discussed. Yet, it is sometimes not fully understood. EMDR can greatly benefit an individual struggling with issues of mental health by helping them tap into their emotions and thoughts so they can then begin to modify and/or mitigate the negative behaviors associated with them. Of course, as with other treatment modalities, it is important to understand the limitations of EMDR. This is where a recovery professional can help. If you feel like your daughter is struggling with issues of mental health and/or addiction, please know that you are not alone. We are here for you and your family. For more information, contact Clearview at 866-584-4788.