EMDR from Sophie Madoum & Dr Danielle Dumonteil
Introduction
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a therapeutic method developed by Francine Shapiro, who received the Sigmund Freud Award in 2002. In France, David Servan-Schreiber played a key role in promoting EMDR.
Originally designed to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), EMDR is now widely used for trauma, phobias, grief, anxiety, and other psychological conditions. Its principle is simple yet powerful: by reproducing the rapid eye movements of REM sleep, EMDR helps the brain reprocess painful memories and integrate them in a less distressing way.
How EMDR Works
From Trauma to Integration
Conscious experience can be broken down into three elements: cognitions, emotions, and sensations. Trauma disrupts this balance, leaving painful fragments unprocessed.
EMDR facilitates a shift:
Transforming negative emotions into neutral or positive ones.
Allowing emotions to surface safely, then releasing them.
Preventing intellectual over-control, by maintaining distance from raw emotional content.
Through bilateral stimulation—eye movements, alternating sounds, or tactile taps—communication between the brain’s two hemispheres improves. This promotes a more integrated perspective where body and mind work together for healing.
The Brain and Emotions
Frontal lobes: regulate conscious actions.
Amygdala: processes impulses and emotional reactions.
Hippocampus and limbic system: store emotional memories and regulate vital functions (breathing, heart rate, libido).
Emotion precedes cognition.
The hemispheres play distinct roles:
Left hemisphere: logic, language, writing, math, and positive emotions.
Right hemisphere: perception, spatial awareness, imagination, and negative emotions.
When trauma overwhelms the system, hyper-emotional responses block communication and action. Then EMDR re-establishes balance, allowing the right brain’s intuitive images and the left brain’s logical structures to reconnect.
EMDR: A Multimodal Therapy
EMDR draws upon multiple approaches:
Psychoanalysis – revisiting past events.
Gestalt therapy – reliving emotions.
Ericksonian hypnosis – encouraging free associations.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – restructuring limiting thoughts.
The process includes:
Identifying a traumatic memory.
Measuring its intensity across three scales:
Emotion (fear, grief, anger).
Perception (physical sensations, anguish).
Belief (negative self-image).
Introducing bilateral stimulation (eye movements, finger tracking, or taps).
Observing changes on the scales.
Repeating the process until emotional relief appears.
Sessions usually last 60–90 minutes, with an average of 3 to 12 sessions. In some cases, one to two weeks are needed for new information to consolidate through REM sleep cycles.
Applications of EMDR
EMDR is effective in:
Trauma and PTSD
Grief and bereavement
Anxiety and phobias
Illness-related distress
Eating disorders and low self-esteem
A common technique involves asking the client to focus on the most intense moment of the memory—its images, sounds, smells, and bodily sensations. Then the therapist helps identify the negative belief associated with it (e.g., “I am weak”) and replace it with a positive cognition (e.g., “I deserve respect”).
Conclusion
EMDR is not about erasing memories but about reprocessing them so they lose their destructive charge. By bridging the body and mind, and by reactivating the natural processes of integration, EMDR enables individuals to transform suffering into resilience and reclaim a sense of well-being.
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