What's the difference between EMDR and talk therapy?
This post is the first in a three-part series introducing key facts about EMDR.
So maybe you've heard about EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing, and you're curious about what it is, and what makes it different. In my opinion, one of the most important differences between EMDR and other therapies is that you don't have to talk in detail about the past! Here, I'd like to compare and contrast these two therapy approaches, and talk about what makes EMDR unique.
Talk therapy can be incredibly helpful—but EMDR does things a little differently.
What is talk therapy?
"Talk therapy" is a broad term that encompasses a variety of different types of therapy. If you search for a therapist on a directory, you might see a whirlwind of letters referring to different approaches, like cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), or acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Someone goes into an office, sits on a couch, and talks about what's bothering them with a qualified professional. The professional and the client build a working relationship together, and then that professional might offer interventions, skills, challenges, homework, or unique perspectives on how to approach their problems. A client might be there for 45 minutes or an hour. Treatment can last a limited amount of time (like 8, 10, or 12 sessions, for instance) or a person might choose to engage in regular maintenance therapy as a part of their wellness routine, along with other types of self-care.
This is the classic type of therapy you might imagine in your head, or see in TV shows and movies: it's the one where you, well, talk!
The problem with talk therapy
Listen, I'm all about therapy. I support whatever type of therapy a person can access, in fact, the APA affirmed in 2012 that therapy across different approaches is likely to be effective. Talk therapies tend to be very accessible! So if you've been to therapy before, you've most likely experienced a talk therapy. But EMDR is something special, and it's probably the thing you haven't tried yet.
So how is EMDR different?
Your first few EMDR sessions are going to have similarities to other types: an intake appointment, a therapeutic relationship, a comfortable couch or chair. But EMDR has a slightly different way of thinking:
EMDR is based on the idea that difficult events in our life get "programmed" into our brains as information, which informs future experiences. Through connecting not only with thoughts, but with emotions, physical sensations, and the present moment, people can take new things they've learned since the event and place that context onto what happened in the past, and then create the circumstances to succeed in the future.
Because EMDR treatment connects people with other elements of difficult events (and not just the story about them), clients only need to share a few words or sentences while reprocessing what's happened to them.
3 benefits of non-talk therapies
Incorporating feelings and sensations in the body
Sometimes, when someone has experienced a difficulty or trauma, a person can talk all about it, but feel physically numb, or not notice that tension in the neck or that pit in the stomach as they do. But our bodies are a rich text for information. Therapies that directly ask about the body gather that information, which can help us understand and more fully move through difficult content.
Maintaining confidentiality
Folks who work in fields like healthcare and law may deal in sensitive content. When a person wishes to talk about a challenge at work, it could lead to some uncertainty about how to avoid disclosing privileged information. In EMDR reprocessing, all a therapist needs to know is that a client is engaging with the content, not necessarily the story about it. A trained EMDR therapist will be able to use nonverbal communication and facial expressions to understand how reprocessing is going for a client.
Continuing healing even if it becomes difficult to speak
Some trauma may involve not being able to speak, or for certain people like those on the autism spectrum, speech may become more difficult when discussing challenges. Therapies that incorporate the body offer an opportunity for continued healing even when it's difficult to speak.
Other types of non-talk therapies
Creative arts therapy, movement/dance therapy, animal-assisted therapy, and somatic experiencing are all therapies that engage with the body and in-the-moment participation. At Inspiration Point Therapy, I offer EMDR treatment that honors your way of communication and your way of looking at your experiences.
If you're interested in trying something you haven't tried yet and pursuing relief, I'd love to have a free consult with you. Join me and learn about how EMDR could help you.