What is Somatic EMDR Therapy?

As an intervention in psychotherapy, Somatic Therapy uses body awareness to examine the links between the brain, cognition, and behavior. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often results in nervous system dysregulation, which EMDR therapists trained in somatic therapies can address.

Trauma and Recovery

In a study published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the authors state that there is a clear link between trauma exposure and substance abuse. They also cite evidence that early childhood trauma increases the risk for psychiatric disorders in adulthood. Many use substances as a means to cope with issues they lack the resources to treat. Thus, it’s important for providers to utilize therapies that are known to help treat trauma. Often, with trauma it is difficult to open up and talk about it.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Somatic Experience are two therapies that we use at Mountain View Recovery to address trauma in patient’s backgrounds. They’ve proven effective in treating trauma and allowing individuals to process it without necessarily having to talk about it.

EMDR

Per the official EMDR website, “EMDR is a psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences.” EMDR aims to help people process psychological trauma so that the painful memories no longer cause distress or lessen the severity of the distress. EMDR is individual therapy with eight phases and the number of sessions depends on the number of traumas and severity. During treatment, the individual recalls troubling images while the therapist engages in a bilateral sensory output, like moving their hands from side to side. While there is interaction with the EMDR therapists, there is less of the therapist interpreting events and more of the patient processing the trauma through their own psychological and emotional processes.

EMDR is effective in helping a number of people work through trauma, reframe it in a way that it ceases to cause significant harm, and develop the ability to manage it in the future. It focuses on the past, the present, and the future. A long-term prevention plan is key in recovery, which is a life-long journey, and EMDR is an effective tool to use in that plan. It works to help individuals manage potential triggers in the future, something that everyone in recovery needs.