The shadow of childhood trauma can be a long and dark one to escape from, and all too often it follows an individual into adulthood and impacts on their quality of life. Therapy can be an extremely useful and important tool to help people understand and address their issues, and move on to a better state of emotional wellbeing.
One of the most effective psychotherapy interventions for people who have experienced trauma is eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing, or EMDR therapy. It involves desensitising the brain to traumatic experiences, helping the patient to move on and cease dwelling on destructive beliefs or memories.
WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON TYPES OF CHILDHOOD TRAUMA?
Childhood trauma is classed as events that a child experiences as emotionally painful or distressing, and that has a lasting mental and/or physical effect.
Common causes of childhood trauma include bullying, physical abuse or neglect, emotional abuse or neglect, sexual abuse, loss of a loved one, accidents or serious medical problems, poverty, witnesseing violence at home or in wider society, or a chaotic and dysfunctional home.
Children often bury distressing experiences because they lack the emotional resources to deal with them, and they can be left unprocessed and unexamined into adulthood. This can cause subconscious problems with mood, self-esteem, or behaviour.
Unwanted thoughts and feelings may persist in the mind of the individual, causing anxiety, fear, anger, or problems forming healthy relationships.
HOW CAN EMDR HELP PEOPLE TO HEAL FROM CHILDHOOD TRAUMA?
EMDR is a relatively new approach to therapy that was originally developed in the late 1980s to help war veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. It’s proved to be effective at treating a range of traumas, as well as other types of mental health disorders such as anxiety, panic attacks, phobias, chronic pain, and addictions.
Before the patient is introduced to the EMDR process, the therapist will work with them to understand their background and the specific traumas and challenges that they are struggling with. They may also prepare the patient with strategies for dealing with any disturbing memories that may occur during the therapy.
During the process, the therapist directs the patient to quickly move their eyes from side to side whilst briefly recalling the traumatic memory. This is thought to help to clear the blockage that is trapping the distressing memories in the mind, and helps the patient to disassociate them from painful thoughts and feelings.
Patients report that EMDR helps to ease the associated symptoms of trauma such as anxiety and depression. It can also help people to reexamine negative self-beliefs that may have become deeply embedded in childhood, and work towards building higher self-esteem.
By processing disturbing and self-limiting beliefs, patients may find that they can finally move on towards a better state of mental wellbeing, improved coping skills, and stronger personal relationships.