18/07/2022
Bilateral stimulation is a core treatment element of EMDR and a process which distinguishes EMDR from any other method. While there is still a lot to learn about this amazing process, it can be said that it produces four main effects:
1. A relaxation effect including decreased physiological arousal.
2. Increased attentional flexibility (meaning that your thoughts become less ‘stuck’ on whatever was bothering you).
3. Distancing effect (meaning that the problem seems smaller and further away).
4. Decreased worry.
These effects are experienced as a ‘bottom-up’ cascade of changes meaning that they are experienced in the lower areas of the brain first, as a physiological response (ie; decreased tension) then travel ‘up’ the brain leading to mental changes (eg; decreased worry). Because this order works with how the brain normally processes information, the effects are often experienced more quickly and easily than with say top-down strategies such as insight and conscious introspection.