Attachment-Focused
EMDR

Santa Monica, West Los Angeles, California & Online

Attachment and EMDR: A Perfect Pairing

Attachment-Focused Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (AF-EMDR) is a rapid and effective alternative to talk therapy.

EMDR was Founded by Dr. Francine Shapiro in 1987 and is one of the most empirically-supported treatments for trauma and psychological distress. EMDR has been shown to be an effective treatment for anxiety, depression, phobias, chronic pain, grief, and other stress-related conditions.

Attachment-Focused EMDR was developed by Dr. Laurel Parnell, who worked alongside Dr. Shapiro for several decades gradually distinguishing her approach to focus on the uniqueness of each client relationship and on resourcing, or the filling in of developmental deficits. This version of EMDR can feel extremely affirming, nurturing, nourishing, and safe.

Both EMDR and AF-EMDR are carefully structured protocols that combine facets of somatic psychology, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and interpersonal therapy to address the root cause of emotional distress.

The distinguishing feature of EMDR is that it uses bilateral stimulation to reprocess traumatic memories. Bilateral stimulation can take the form of physical stimulation on either side of the body, through hand tapping or electronic tappers, or lateral eye movements.

Stages of EMDR

The full EMDR process involves a structured approach that typically takes place over 5 to 15 sessions.

  1. History-taking and Treatment Planning: Comprehensive assessment to tailor treatment.

  2. Preparation: Establishing a safe therapeutic alliance.

  3. Assessment: Identification of traumatic memories, negative beliefs, and emotional and somatic symptoms.

  4. Desensitization: Reprocessing of traumatic memories through sets of bilateral stimulation.

  5. Installation: Replacing negative cognitions with positive beliefs that surface from the unconscious.

  6. Body Scan: Identifying and addressing any residual emotional and somatic tensions.

  7. Closure: Restoring equilibrium within the session and containing unresolved issues for further work.

  8. Reevaluation: Ongoing assessment of therapeutic outcomes and testing of the work performed.

Prince Harry Opens Up about EMDR

A Glimpse Into an EMDR Session

After the initial phases of history-taking and preparation, the client and therapist work together to target specific traumatic memories.

The therapist helps the client to identify the worst part of the incident, including any current emotional and body-based responses, and any negative self-beliefs that associate to the incident.

Once the target is set up, the therapist employs sets of bilateral stimulation, or physical stimulation on either side of the body, while the client allows a stream of experiences or free associations to take place. After each set, the client reports back their experience and the therapist may instruct them to continue on in this direction. Alternatively, if the client appears to stuck or looping, the therapist may provide an interweave, which is a socratic question designed to bring in information that is known to the client, but not accessible in the current state.

  • Nowadays, bilateral stimulation is most commonly effected by either electronic tappers, which are small handheld devices that produce alternating pulses of tactile stimulus, or tapping performed by the therapist or client.

  • In the early days, EMDR was mostly performed with lateral eye movements with the client following the therapists outstretched finger from side to side. However, this was found to be tiring for both client and clinician and required the client’s eyes to be open. The current preferred method of tapping allows for the client’s eyes to be closed which enables powerful and spontaneous visualizations to occur that support the healing process.

When an EMDR session goes well, the client discharges bound survival energy and the traumatic memory loses its charge. The client often achieves a state of flow, creativity and embodied imagination, where new possibilities can unfold. As this takes place, it is common for clients to experience states of joy, euphoria and optimism that have long been absent.

Example EMDR Session

New York Times on EMDR

“Our brains do not have the capacity to completely focus on both the bilateral stimulation and the traumatic memory, Dr. Houben said. The theory behind E.M.D.R. is that memories become less vivid and emotional when a patient can’t focus on them completely.

“At the end of a therapy session, you put it back in storage,” Dr. McNally said. “It’s in a degraded form. It’s not quite as emotionally evocative.”

-New York Times, 9/20/2022

What Clients are Saying

Embark On Your Healing Journey Today

Contact me today to learn more about how Attachment-Focused EMDR can help you find relief. I can answer your questions and support you as you take your first steps toward a more balanced and vibrant life.

Scientific Support for EMDR

EMDR is well-known as one of the most scientifically-validated psychotherapies, with hundreds of published studies. The American Psychological Association (APA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have both recognized EMDR as an effective treatment for PTSD. The World Health Organization (WHO) currently recommends EMDR as one of only two trauma therapies with strong empirical support, alongside Trauma-Focused CBT.

A meta-analysis published in Psychological Medicine in 2020 concluded that EMDR shows high effectiveness for PTSD, anxiety, and depression symptoms (Cuijpers et al., 2020). Another meta-analysis published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology in 2013 found that EMDR was as effective as cognitive-behavioral therapy (Bisson et al., 2013).

In multiple randomized controlled trials, EMDR has demonstrated rapid symptom reduction and a long-lasting therapeutic effect. One such study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology indicated that even brief EMDR interventions could lead to significant reductions in specific phobias (De Jongh et al., 2002).

Studies have employed neuroimaging techniques like fMRI to show that EMDR can lead to noticeable changes in neural activation patterns, particularly in areas involved with memory and emotional regulation (Pagani et al., 2012).

Attachment Focused EMDR in West Los Angeles, California and Online

References

Bisson, J. I., Roberts, N. P., Andrew, M., Cooper, R., & Lewis, C. (2013). Psychological therapies for chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (12), CD003388.

Cuijpers, P., Veen, S. C. V., Sijbrandij, M., Yoder, W., & Cristea, I. A. (2020). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing for mental health problems: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological Medicine, 1-12.

De Jongh, A., Holmshaw, M., Carswell, W., & Van Wijk, A. J. (2002). Usefulness of a trauma-focused treatment approach for travel phobia. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 58(12), 1413–1424.

World Health Organization. (2013). Guidelines for the management of conditions specifically related to stress. Geneva: WHO.