What is EMDR, the therapy Prince Harry does?
In “The Me You Can’t See,” Prince Harry shares that when he started his relationship with Meghan Markle, he realized that to move forward with his life, he had to process the grief, loss, and trauma of his past. For Prince Harry, EMDR therapy became an integral part of his healing process. In the third episode of the series, Prince Harry demonstrates how he works with a therapist to target a specific memory—flying into London—that triggers an emotional and physiological response in him.
So, what is EMDR?
EMDR is a form of psychotherapy that is scientifically proven to help you recover from difficult life experiences. It’s common for our brains to enter fight-flight-freeze mode when something happens that is too much, too soon, or too fast for you to absorb with the resources you have at that moment. Often, these incidents occur in our youth. In these moments, your brain can’t metabolize the experience with its normal information processing system.
The experience that overwhelms you may seem pedestrian—a fight with a parent, an embarrassing episode at school—or it may be acute—the loss of a loved one, a car accident. This unprocessed life experience can become the root of future fear, anxiety, depression, stress, panic, trauma, addiction and more.
How does EMDR work?
EMDR helps people process challenging life experiences by activating the brain’s normal information processing system.
Our brains are made up of neurons that communicate with each other, and form neural pathways. These pathways store our memories, and also create associations with other memories, emotions, and new information. When something upsetting happens, the neural pathway of that memory can be ‘impaired’. This pathway does not link to other memories, or adapt to new information. As it becomes more and more entrenched, it becomes the foundation for distressing beliefs, feelings, and physical symptoms.
EMDR uses dual attention simulation to activate and rewire these negative pathways, so that the bad experiences are ‘desensitized’ and no longer carry a negative charge.
The desensitizing occurs by holding onto an image of a root memory, while focusing attention elsewhere: eyes side to side, hand taps right left, or eyes straight ahead. This process de-activates your brain’s fight-or-flight response and activates your parasympathetic response. It actually has a calming effect.
How many sessions does it take?
Every person’s experience is unique, so there is no perfect answer for this question. EMDR therapy is an evidence-based approach, with 8 phases. For some individuals, multiple phases can occur in a single session of therapy, and in studies it has been shown that EMDR therapy can achieve measurable results after three to six sessions.
However, other individuals may need to spend more time sharing their history with their therapist, or assessing the beliefs and experiences that are currently inhibiting growth, before working on reprocessing target memories. And, it’s common to realize through EMDR that there are other root memories you want to work on.
EMDR is one powerful tool. Every therapist is trained in multiple approaches, so your therapist will likely integrate other tools into your treatment plan. Therapy is dynamic, and it’s a journey. As your relationship with your therapist progresses, your therapist should adapt your treatment plan, based on what works best for you.