Are There Any Dangers of EMDR Therapy? - EMDR Misconceptions & Side Effects
EMDR psychotherapy is relatively new compared to other, more classical types of therapy whose roots date back to the 19th century and Freudian psychoanalysis. This is why some people have some skeptical questions about EMDR, questioning its methods, practices, and effectiveness.
EMDR is based on more contemporary medical and scientific findings, making it more reliable, structured, and effective. Educating yourself about EMDR therapy and how it works can help you make a more informed decision about whether it is the correct type of psychotherapy for you. It will also help you better understand why and how some of the misconceptions arose, allowing you to distinguish facts from rumors.
In this article, we will tackle all of the misconceptions about EMDR, which are usually labeled as side effects or dangers of EMDR therapy. We will debunk some of the most frequent misconceptions and provide scientific findings that represent the reality of what EMDR therapy is, what it does, and how it does that.
The Basics of EMDR Therapy
EMDR, which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a psychotherapy technique used to treat trauma-induced conditions and symptoms. It focuses on reprocessing memories through eye movements. Psychotherapist Francine Shapiro developed this method in 1989 after she spontaneously noticed that her negative emotions lowered if she moved her eyes side to side while thinking about negative experiences.
This form of psychotherapy focuses on facilitating eye movement which activates the brain’s hemispheres in a specific manner while recalling traumatic memories. This engagement encourages the brain to process memories more effectively. The primary aim is to change the mindset and belief system that the client incorporated as a result of those traumatic memories and to make the memories themselves more tolerant and less distressing.
EMDR therapy, although it is a relatively new approach, has proven to be an effective technique for addressing PTSD and trauma-related mental health challenges. Notably, it often produces results more quickly than many other therapeutic methods.
Understanding EMDR therapy
EMDR therapy, in the hands of an expert, is a completely safe and effective therapy that is known to treat a wide range of mental health problems and difficulties. Applicable for PTSD, depression, grief, anxiety, and many more trauma-related symptoms, EMDR has helped millions of people around the world take control of their lives and improve their mental health.
EMDR helps clients reprocess their distressing memories, lower their emotional affect when recalling them, and replace the negative thoughts that “feed” the negative experience.
A multiple baseline study on the subject determined that after receiving EMDR sessions, participants with PTSD symptoms as part of their mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning had a significant reduction in symptoms. Participants reported fewer symptoms regarding their psychopathology, including lowered depressive symptoms. Some experienced such significant symptom reduction that they didn’t even qualify for a DSM-5 disorder diagnosis anymore.
Being available both in-person and through virtual or telehealth channels, EMDR has wide applications and is widely available.
EMDR Misconceptions
EMDR works for everyone
EMDR psychotherapy helps with issues, difficulties, and conditions that stem from traumatic past experiences. It can help with resolving issues from past single traumatic events, ongoing abuse, sleeping problems stemming from trauma, eating difficulties connected to trauma, violence or abuse, grief and loss of a loved one, instances of bullying, childhood neglect, surviving a natural disaster, and witnessing a violent act or event.
Although this list is long and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing can help with numerous conditions, it is still not suitable for everyone.
EMDR only works for PTSD
No, EMDR therapy works for all trauma-related conditions and mental health challenges or disorders. Aside from PTSD, conditions like anxiety, panic attacks and phobias, depression and depressive conditions, stress-related difficulties, eating disorders, dissociative disorders and conditions, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and personality disorders can all be tackled with EMDR therapy.
EMDR erases memories
EMDR therapy does not erase memories, nor does it make you forget your trauma or traumatic experiences.
EMDR, in essence, works through the traumatic memories and tackles the unresolved feelings and thoughts that one might still carry from those traumatic events. With the help of desensitization, EMDR actually enables the person to desensitize to those memories and remember them with less emotional distress. The Reprocessing part of EMDR therapy helps the person to change some of the negative belief systems and life outlooks that they might have incorporated as a result of the traumatic event. Furthermore, some parts of the EMDR process revolve around identifying and strengthening the current support systems so a person can find understanding, strength, and support on their journey.
EMDR is like hypnosis
No, EMDR is not a form of hypnosis, and it doesn’t work on the same premises. Namely, hypnosis reaches the unconscious mind, digging through repressed memories and imprinting new perspectives or thoughts.
During EMDR, the client is completely aware and doesn’t regress into the unconscious. Instead, EMDR works with the conscious mind and what the person remembers, thinks, and feels about their experiences. Once relevant thoughts and emotions are identified, EMDR works on lowering their intensity, making conscious adjustments in mindset, and desensitizing the person to those emotions to cope more easily.
In the end, the person still remembers the traumatic experiences, but it doesn’t cause the same levels of distress as before. Furthermore, they also obtain different tools and skills that help them cope better with those memories, making them more tolerant, aware, emotionally resilient, and in control.
EMDR is dangerous
No, EMDR is not dangerous. It is a safe and structured type of psychotherapy that can and should only be practiced by an educated and certified EMDR therapist. When that’s the case, EMDR therapy is not dangerous, and the possibility of any short-term side effects is minimal. That said, EMDR is not always comfortable. We want to process trauma which can involve discomfort but part of the setup and processing process is having strong support from a therapist. Learn more about aftercare in this blog.
To read more about the possible side effects of EMDR therapy, head over to the next section of this article.
EMDR focuses extensively on each detail of the trauma
No. Although EMDR does focus on trauma, it doesn’t focus on all details. In essence, the EMDR therapist and the client will jointly determine the most vivid and relevant memories connected to the traumatic experience, and they will focus their work on them.
Furthermore, the client doesn’t necessarily need to talk about those details. It’s only important that they think of those memories, notice their momentary reactions to them, and determine whether their intensity lowers as they work on them.
Does EMDR have side effects or dangers?
EMDR has been shown to be one of the most effective therapeutic techniques for various trauma-related mental health issues.
Side effects or dangers of EMDR therapy may happen at the initial start of the reprocessing part of EMDR, especially for clients who have been repressing and avoiding their traumatic experiences. For these clients, it might be challenging to open up about their traumas and start healing them, as thinking, recalling, and talking about them may increase their distress and strong emotional reactions. Nonetheless, those side effects are only mild and tend to withdraw after a few therapy sessions.
Some short-term side effects might include vivid dreams, headaches, fatigue, or exhaustion. These side effects usually occur right after a session and tend to go away within hours of the session itself. To learn more about preparing before a session and unwind after it, read our article and our tips.
In another set of circumstances, EMDR side effects might happen when the client is still not ready to reprocess their traumatic experiences. They might experience intrusive thoughts and memories, flashbacks, vivid dreams, or nightmares. These signs indicate that EMDR reprocessing is still not an appropriate course of action, and preparation work is needed before moving on to reprocessing itself.
How to avoid any danger in EMDR therapy?
EMDR can feel overwhelming, especially for people who don’t have experience with this type of psychotherapy. But there isn’t anything to be afraid of. EMDR is a proven and effective psychotherapy for all kinds of trauma-related difficulties.
If you are worried about any potential “dangers” of EMDR therapy, read through these tips to alleviate your uncertainty and get the most benefit out of the EMDR process.
Ask your potential EMDR therapist all the questions you have
Make sure that you communicate openly with your therapist and ask all the questions that pop into your mind about the whole EMDR process, what you two would do during therapy, or their expertise, qualifications, and experience.
Be completely honest and open about yourself
Your therapist is here for you, and your joined trust and dedication will help you with your problems. That’s why it’s essential to feel comfortable sharing everything with your therapist - your emotions, thoughts, difficulties, doubts, and concerns about each step of the process. Furthermore, if you feel overwhelmed during the sessions at any time, make sure to communicate that openly with your therapist so you can make the appropriate adjustments and work on anything unresolved before moving forward with the process. To have an effective and holistic treatment, the EMDR process needs to be adjusted to your needs and move at a pace that you are comfortable with.
Work only with a qualified, experienced EMDR therapist
Working with trauma is no walk in the park. It requires a lot of skills, tools, qualifications, and expertise. This is why it’s essential to work with a therapist who EMDRIA, the leading organization for EMDR practitioners, accredits. When you work with an accredited therapist, you can rest assured that they have gone through training and mandatory practice hours and have worked under supervision.
Furthermore, you can ask the EMDR therapist you want to work with if they have experience with topics and problems similar to those you are struggling with.
Conclusion
EMDR is an effective, structured, and proven therapeutic modality that is widely used for treating different mental health conditions whose roots come from trauma, depression, or PTSD. Most of the misconceptions and myths come from uneducated audiences who have not familiarized themselves with EMDR therapy and believe there are dangers associated with it.
By learning more about EMDR's process and methods, people and clients can make more educated decisions about whether this is the right therapeutic approach for them.
At EMDRTherapyNashville, we understand the complexity of EMDR and the side effects associated with a rushed approach. Our therapists are educated, qualified, and experienced in using EMDR tools to help clients overcome difficulties and regain control over all aspects of their lives.
Get in contact now to find out more about EMDR therapy or to schedule your first session.
References
Verhagen, I., Heijden, R. van der, Jongh, A., Korzilius, H., Mevissen, L., & Diddena, R. (2022, November 23). Safety, Feasibility, and Efficacy of EMDR Therapy in Adults with PTSD and Mild Intellectual Disability or Borderline Intellectual Functioning and Mental Health Problems: A Multiple Baseline Study. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19315864.2022.2148791#abstract
About EMDR therapy. EMDR International Association. (2024, May 21). https://www.emdria.org/about-emdr-therapy/
