In her first cover interview for British Vogue, Miley Cyrus credits EMDR – which stands for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing – with helping her to heal from past traumas. Her year of sessions has been “so helpful”, the former child star reveals. “Essentially, you delete the physical sensations associated with these painful memories. The EMDR really helped me.”
Vogue asked the world-renowned psychotherapist Sanja Oakley, who was recently featured in the Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry-produced Apple TV documentary The Me You Can’t See, to explain how this relatively new, but fast-growing form of therapy works.
What is EMDR and how does it work?
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a “powerful, scientifically proven psychotherapy to help people recover from disturbing events in their lives”, Oakley explains. Sometimes, she says, the brain gets overwhelmed by such incidents, and becomes stuck and unable to process the experience, so the emotions around the memory remain intense.
EMDR’s bilateral stimulation (through eye movements or tapping while recounting the experiences in question) sparks the information processing system, which can “help the brain reprocess – or digest – the memory so that it is not as intense”, she explains. Removing the emotional charge means “people are no longer as easily triggered by current life situations”.
It can speed up the healing process, she says. “There’s less talking involved [than with more traditional forms of therapy]. In fact, if you don’t want to talk about something, there is a way of processing it with EMDR.” However, it is not a form of hypnosis, as the client is fully present in the session at all times.
Who is EMDR suitable, or unsuitable, for?
According to Oakley, it’s unsuitable for people experiencing florid psychosis, although there are currently EMDR trials underway for people with a psychosis diagnosis. “There’s growing evidence it’s working,” she says. On the other hand, it can be especially helpful for “people with head injuries and people who are neurodiverse. It is very helpful for people with dissociation – but it’s a much slower process.”
Does EMDR help with anxiety?
The short answer is yes. Anxiety is a symptom of many conditions successfully treated by EMDR, like phobias, panic disorder, social anxiety, PTSD, complex PTSD and attachment trauma. By targeting the memories they are linked to, EMDR can “neutralise these events and reduce the anxiety”, says Oakley.
What is considered trauma in the context of EMDR?
“We talk about ‘big T’ traumas and ‘small t’ traumas,” says Oakley. The former are universally considered to be traumatic – “natural disaster, rape, seeing a loved one murdered” – while “small t” traumas might include “being reprimanded at work, chronic low level invalidating experience, living with a depressed parent… Anything that overwhelms us and gets stuck in the memory system.”
Why is there a controversy with EMDR?
According to Oakley, some mental health professionals do not yet fully understand what makes it work. But, she adds: “Its efficacy in treating trauma has been proven in more than 40 clinical randomised trials and it is recommended by leading organisations like the World Health Organisation and the NHS.”
How do I practise EMDR myself?
While there is limited research to suggest self-administered EMDR can be beneficial in some cases, because it is a “power tool”, the majority of experienced clinicians do not recommend it. “EMDR can take you to places you don’t expect,” Oakley says. While you might start at something you consider relatively insignificant, you might end up at an overwhelming or distressing event. “The role of the therapist is to ensure a safe space for processing whatever arises.”
