For some people, the repercussions of childhood trauma can carry into adulthood. Whether the trauma comes from abuse or neglect, it can negatively impact mental health, causing anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder.
Processing these emotions can be difficult, but help is available. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy help adults process trauma, including events that occurred during childhood.
Addressing unresolved childhood trauma is crucial to improving your mental health and leading a fulfilling life. Explore EMDR therapy for childhood trauma and learn how it can facilitate healing in adulthood.
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What Is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR therapy helps individuals process trauma and understand how it affects their thoughts and behavior. Developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro in 1987, this therapeutic approach aims to alleviate distress associated with traumatic memories, revolutionizing how mental health professionals treat PTSD.
Using rhythmic left-right bilateral stimulation, such as tones, taps or rapid eye movements, EMDR therapy encourages individuals to focus on a traumatic event they haven’t appropriately processed. These side-to-side movements stimulate both sides of the brain, pulling the memory to the surface.
Along with bilateral stimulation, a therapist uses guided instructions to help the individual process the memory. The goal is to alter how traumatic memories are stored in the brain to reduce or eliminate problematic symptoms. There are eight stages of EMDR therapy:
- History-taking and treatment planning
- Preparing the patient for treatment
- Assessing the target memory
- Desensitizing the patient to the memory
- Installing a new version of the memory
- Scanning the body for lingering negative sensations
- Resolving the memory and seeking closure
- Reevaluating the patient’s current psychological state
The Impact of Childhood Trauma on Adult Life
Childhood trauma can have long-lasting effects on mental health, physical well-being, and behavior. Adults who’ve experienced childhood abuse or neglect are more likely to struggle with toxic stress, affecting their ability to form healthy, stable relationships and cope with confrontation or conflict.
They also have a higher risk of developing health conditions, such as heart disease and sleep disturbances. Some adults may turn to drugs or alcohol to cope with distressing memories, especially if they have an underlying mental health condition. Common trauma-related mental health disorders include:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- PTSD
- Anger issues
- Acute stress disorder
- Substance use disorder
How a person reacts to their childhood trauma depends on factors that include the environment they were raised in, when the trauma occurred, and how they previously coped with it.
How EMDR Therapy Helps Address Childhood Trauma
Unresolved trauma can affect your ability to fulfill daily obligations, including working or caring for your family. As difficult as it can be, treating trauma allows you to process troubling memories and reduce their impact.
During EMDR, a therapist directs you to focus on a traumatic childhood memory, such as physical or sexual abuse, neglect, the loss of a family member, or witnessing acts of domestic violence. As this happens, bilateral stimulation from rapid eye movements, taps, or sounds activates both sides of the brain, integrating the emotional and logical parts of the memory.
This technique aims to unfreeze the traumatic memory, allowing your brain to process and accept new information, feelings, or sensations to change how the memory affects you. For example, EMDR therapy can encourage you to accept that what happened wasn’t your fault and that you’re no longer in danger, reducing feelings of guilt or fear.
EMDR treatment offers several benefits for trauma survivors, including enhanced self-esteem and emotional regulation. It can also help you develop healthier coping skills, improving how you manage trauma symptoms and related mental health issues.
Benefits of EMDR Therapy for Adults With Childhood Trauma
Processing traumatic experiences isn’t easy, but it can help child abuse survivors seek relief from negative emotions and find the courage to heal. EMDR therapy for childhood trauma offers several benefits, including:
- Rapid relief from symptoms: EMDR therapy can be highly effective in reducing trauma symptoms, including nightmares, flashbacks, and severe anxiety. The use of bilateral stimulation often produces rapid results.
- Reduced emotional impact: Bilateral stimulation can also reduce a traumatic memory’s vividness and emotional impact. This makes addressing the experience more bearable, reducing the power it holds over your thoughts and behavior.
- Improved emotional regulation and cognitive restructuring: Processing trauma in adulthood can restructure negative thought patterns or beliefs formed in childhood. This can improve emotional regulation, helping you better manage your feelings and build a more positive outlook on life.
- Enhanced psychological well-being: Addressing the root cause of trauma and replacing negative beliefs with positive ones can help you build healthier relationships and habits, facilitating a more balanced, fulfilling life. This can improve self-esteem, self-worth, and overall psychological well-being.
EMDR Therapy Sessions to Address Trauma: What to Expect
After deciding EMDR therapy is a good fit, your therapist conducts an assessment and identifies treatment targets, including distressing memories, current triggers, and future goals. During each session, the therapist directs you to focus on a specific memory while engaging in bilateral stimulation.
The bilateral movements often trigger painful memories and body sensations, causing powerful, intense emotions. Your therapist asks questions about these memories, sensations, and emotions, encouraging you to consider their meaning. This process repeats each session until these reactions become less intense.
EMDR sessions typically last for 60 to 90 minutes. Most people attend treatment once or twice a week for a total of 6 to 12 sessions. Your therapist monitors progress during each session, observing your physical and emotional reactions to gauge desensitization. They also offer instructions or advice to maintain safety and emotional well-being between sessions.
Begin Recovering From Childhood Trauma With EMDR Therapy at Camelback Recovery
At Camelback Recovery, a leading mental health and addiction treatment center in Phoenix, AZ, we offer EMDR therapy to help adults overcome distressing childhood experiences. Our team of experts can create an individualized treatment plan to meet your specific needs and goals. Contact us today to see if EMDR therapy is right for you.
