Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing: In Need of a Computer Geek

How exactly does EMDR work? Francis Shapiro, who discovered the treatment, explains it through the theory of the “Adaptive Information Processing Model.” The theory sounds metaphysical, but it’s not. The assumption is that all individuals have an information processing system, which takes our experiences and stores them in a section of our memories that is easily accessible. These experiences are connected to particular images, emotions, sensations, and beliefs.

Think of a computer. If you’re like me, you might have several folders filled with documents dotting your desktop, because you need the information to be readily available – at the click of the mouse. One of those folders might hold information that reminds you of something that evokes negative feelings. For instance, a folder has photos of your deceased parents. Every time you turn on the computer, you see the folder, and images of your parents fighting in front of you when you were a child return. You hear them screaming at one another, one of them saying, “I wish I never had children.” Each time you drag the folder into another one, so you won’t see it, the folder bounces back onto the desktop. Your computer is malfunctioning, so you need to take it to a computer geek.

Of course, we are not computers; we are human beings. Yet, our brains are very much like computers. In PTSD, the trauma – the negative images, emotions, and thoughts – are stuck in the easily accessible part of the brain. The processing system in our brains is working ineffectively, so each time something triggers memories of the trauma, like a car backfiring, you exhibit PTSD symptoms, such as panic. EMDR helps transfer the trauma and related images from your brain’s desktop into the part of the brain, or folder, that effectively processes the event.

When I speak to others about EMDR, they shirk from me, as if suspicious – maybe I’m looking to recruit them into a cult. But EMDR is not a cult at all, I promise.