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Clinician's
Corner
EMDR as an Effective Treatment for Childhood Trauma
By
Regina Goodman, LCSW
Fires. Car
accidents. Abuse. Injuries. These are all situations
that we think of as traumatic. But for children, other
more common ones can be traumatic as well: divorce,
medical treatments, being bullied, seeing someone get
sick. The resulting symptoms are just as debilitating,
and show up as behavioral problems, feelings of
helplessness, fear and powerlessness.
The good news is that EMDR has been shown to be an
effective therapy in the treatment of trauma for
people of all ages, including children.
What is
EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
is a method of therapy that incorporates elements from
many different treatment approaches. EMDR was
developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro in 1987, when she
made the chance observation that eye movements can
reduce the intensity of disturbing thoughts. She
studied this effect scientifically and reported
success using EMDR to treat victims of trauma. Since
then it has been extensively researched and has helped
an estimated two million people of all ages relieve
many types of psychological stress. There are now many
controlled studies supporting the use of EMDR with
psychological trauma.
How does EMDR work?
Under normal circumstances, the brain takes our
experiences and processes them, much as the digestive
system processes food. That is, if an experience is
properly digested, it is integrated into the system
and supports healthful growth. However, when a person
is very upset, their system goes into a state of alert
and the brain cannot process information in this way.
Rather, the upsetting moment becomes “frozen in time,”
along with its associated images, smells, sounds,
feelings, and physical sensations. As a result, the
child can suffer both psychologically and physically,
as if reliving the trauma every time they are
triggered by any one of these associations.
EMDR seems to have a direct effect on the way that the
brain processes information. That’s where the
“reprocessing” comes in. The use of eye movements in
the controlled setting appears to be similar to what
occurs naturally during dreaming or REM (rapid eye
movement) sleep. After a successful EMDR session,
normal information processing is resumed and the
client no longer relives the images, sounds, and
feelings when the event is brought to mind. The event
is still remembered, but it is less upsetting. The
primary message of EMDR is that the client is
intrinsically healthy: once experiences are processed
with EMDR, the client can quickly return to a state of
equilibrium.
What would a typical session look like?
Once it has been determined that EMDR is an
appropriate treatment for your child, the therapist
will meet with the child to identify a specific
problem as the focus of the session. Typically, for
children younger than six, the parent will be asked to
be involved in the session as an observer, an
informer, and a beacon of safety for your child. The
therapist will ask your child to call to mind the
incident, along with what was seen, felt, heard, etc.,
as well as what thoughts and beliefs they have about
the event. For young children, the therapist will
likely use creative ways to elicit these components,
such as with puppets, dolls, sandtrays, or drawings.
Once identified, the therapist will ask the child to
“follow my fingers” as he/she moves them back and
forth in front of the child’s face to elicit the eye
movements. If this is too difficult for the child,
audio tones, tapping on hands or feet, or hand buzzers
can be used.
The child
will then be asked just to “notice” what they are
thinking or feeling. The eye movements (or tones or
taps) are repeated until the memory becomes less
disturbing. Typically, the child will express positive
beliefs about themselves, such as “it wasn’t my fault”
or “I did the best I could.” The memory remains, but
children often report that it doesn’t bother them
anymore.
What can it do for my child?
Children who have been exposed to trauma can have a
host of negative reactions. You may notice them
regress to behaviors common to younger children. This
is because traumatic experiences can slow down
development and influence the formation of their
personality. EMDR can help them get past the trauma.
Because the memory of the traumatic event has been
cleared of it’s negative associations, it no longer
impacts their beliefs about themselves and the world.
Chances are you will see a great improvement in how
your child feels and reacts. In short, you will “have
your child back”.
Regina Goodman, LCSW, has been practicing EMDR since
2006. She welcomes new clients at the Milwaukee
location of Cornerstone Counseling Services. She can
be reached at 262-542-3255 ext. 323.
*EMDR
should be used only by licensed clinicians
specifically trained in EMDR.
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