How Much Detail Do You Need to Share in EMDR Therapy?
When it comes to trauma therapy, survivors have plenty of reservations. No one likes revisiting bad memories. No one wants to get triggered. People worry that revisiting the memory will overwhelm them. They worry they'll lose progress toward feeling normal. They worry trauma therapy will make things worse. And all that is totally valid. But without treatment, trauma can cause a lot of damage. Our goal is to help as many people get relief from their trauma as possible. So let's answer the question once and for all: Do you need to go into detail in EMDR therapy? Let's explore why, in EMDR therapy, less may indeed be more.
EMDR Therapy's History Of Minimal Details
Many people are hesitant to talk through details of their traumatic experiences. In EMDR, you're not obligated to recount every agonizing moment unless you feel ready to do so. Originally developed for combat veterans and first responders, EMDR is a departure from traditional talk therapy. It doesn't demand detailed recounts of events or discussions about emotions.
EMDR is also highly adaptable. It can treat many experiences, from sexual trauma and car accidents to relational wounds like abuse or betrayal. It can also treat phobias, grief, loss, and even panic attacks. Regardless of whether your trauma is recent or longstanding, EMDR has the potential to diminish its impact dramatically.
The Basics of EMDR Therapy
EMDR therapy is a tool used to help people process trauma and other upsetting memories. It's an 8 stage process and takes different amounts of time for different people. The stages that involve bilateral stimulation get a lot of attention, though other phases are equally important.
The Body Remembers: How Trauma Is Stored
Trauma isn't just stored in memories or thoughts. It's often deeply embedded in the body, a concept known as somatic experiencing. This is resoundingly supported by all trauma research in the last 20 years. When someone experiences trauma, the body's natural fight-or-flight response becomes overwhelmed, leading to physical sensations, tension, and even chronic pain. These symptoms can persist long after the trauma has passed.
How EMDR Therapy Can Help Trauma Move Through And Out of Your Body
EMDR therapy doesn't solely rely on verbal processing. It incorporates bilateral stimulation to engage both hemispheres of the brain. This helps to access and process traumatic memories stored in the body.
During EMDR therapy sessions, clients may become more attuned to body sensations as they recall distressing memories. The bilateral stimulation helps desensitize the body's response to these memories. This allows for a more integrated processing of the trauma.
Top Down And Bottom Up: EMDR Therapy's Comprehensive Approach To Trauma Processing
By addressing the cognitive, emotional, and somatic aspects of trauma, EMDR offers a holistic approach to healing. It helps you not only make sense of your traumatic experiences, but also to release the distress held within your body. Through this process, you can find true healing from trauma rather than a complex web of coping.
The Role of Detail In EMDR Therapy
One might assume that in order for EMDR therapy to be effective, every single detail of a distressing memory must be recounted in detail. But this isn't the case. EMDR therapy doesn't rely on storytelling; rather, it focuses on key experiences associated with the memory.
Processing Trauma Without Detail
Some master EMDR therapists can facilitate profound healing without knowing any details of the trauma. One of our clinicians witnessed a master EMDR trainer process a trauma without even knowing the nature of the trauma during a training. Upon a moving and successful processing, the person who had volunteered to process in front of the class disclosed it had been a violent sexual trauma. No one had been aware until that point. It was profound experience for all involved.
What To Focus On In EMDR Therapy
EMDR therapy can be effective whenever a person is fully accessing upsetting memories. This can include images, thoughts, feelings, body sensations, and more. The images, thoughts, feelings, and body sensations doesn't need to be verbalized in detail. They do need to be felt and experienced as fully as possible. If this seems overwhelming, ask your EMDR therapist to help you build coping strategies before processing trauma.
Quality Over Quantity In EMDR Therapy
In EMDR therapy, the emotional and sensory components of a memory that are most crucial. So long as you are remembering, the intricate details don't need to be shared. Clients are asked to share enough information to convey the essence of the memory and the emotions attached to it, rather than a play-by-play. This helps speed the processing along.
Why Less Detail In EMDR Therapy Can Be More Effective
Focusing on Emotions & Sensations With Your EMDR Therapist
By honing in on the emotions and sensations associated with a memory rather than the specifics, clients can better target the core of their distress. This allows for more efficient processing and resolution.
Focus on Accessing the Memory Instead of Communicating It To Your EMDR Therapist
We know that trauma can have a big impact on the language centers of our brain. It's not uncommon for people to feel like the can't physically speak about trauma. That's normal and okay. With EMDR, you don’t need to struggle to explain things, so long as you are feeling and experiencing them.
Minimizing Shame In EMDR Therapy
It's very common for people to feel shame around their trauma, even if they did nothing wrong. By not going into a lot of detail, you can process the trauma without worrying too much about what your therapist thinks about what happened to you.
Encouraging Brain Processing
EMDR therapy relies on the brain's natural capacity to heal itself. Sometimes they need support, but our brains are incredible at self-healing. By providing just enough detail to activate the memory network without overwhelming the system, the brain can effectively reprocess the experience.
Trusting the EMDR Therapy Process
One of the key tenets of EMDR therapy is trust – trust in the process, trust in your EMDR therapist, and trust in oneself. Clients are encouraged to trust that their brains know how to process the memories effectively. Of course, we don't mean blind trust. Trust does need to be earned. But if you feel good about your therapist and their ability to help you, lean into the process and let it work.
Finding Comfort in Boundaries
Your EMDR therapist should work with you to establish boundaries around how much detail feels comfortable to share. This collaborative approach ensures that clients feel empowered and in control of their therapeutic journey.
Talk In EMDR Therapy: Less Can Indeed Be More
When it comes to sharing details in EMDR therapy, less can indeed be more. By focusing on the emotional essence of memories rather than exhaustive detail, you can effectively process and integrate past traumas. Trusting in the process and your EMDR therapist are key to the success of EMDR therapy sessions. So, if you're wondering how much detail to share in EMDR therapy, remember – sometimes, a little goes a long way.
Alexis Bibler, AMFT, EMDR therapist, listening to a client reflect during EMDR processing.
Work With A Great EMDR Therapist In Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Throughout California & Florida
Are you in California or Florida and seeking relief from past traumas or distressing experiences? Find healing through working with an EMDR therapist. Our compassionate EMDR therapists in Los Angeles & San Francisco are here to support you on your healing journey. Take the first step towards healing today and schedule a consultation.
