The Power of EMDR: Healing Eating Disorders from Within

 As a licensed psychotherapist who specializes in working with clients struggling with eating disorders, I have witnessed the profound impact that Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) can have. Certified in EMDR, I incorporate this approach into my practice to help clients heal from deeply rooted traumas and negative beliefs. In this blog, I want to share the benefits of EMDR and how it has transformed the lives of many of my clients.

The Struggles of Eating Disorder Clients

 In my work, I often see clients who bring a range of concerns to therapy. Many struggle with negative body image, low self-esteem, and insecurities. They face intense anxiety and stress around food and eating, which can lead to avoiding social activities that involve meals. This avoidance can make everyday life challenging and isolate them from others. Additionally, many clients have difficulty establishing and maintaining relationships, feeling unworthy of love and support.

 Many of my clients share common themes and patterns in their struggles. A family history of eating or body image issues is often present, and difficulties in relationships are common. Clients frequently feel unworthy of love and acceptance, which exacerbates their disordered eating behaviors.

 How EMDR Can Help Treat Eating Disorders

 As a therapist who specializes in treating eating disorders, I know that many of these thoughts and behaviors are rooted in long-held beliefs formed early in life. Our society’s pervasive diet culture and discussions around body size can reinforce these beliefs, often causing significant stress and trauma. These unprocessed experiences can result in heightened emotional responses and disordered eating patterns.

In my practice, EMDR has proven to be a powerful tool in addressing these issues. EMDR targets these memories and experiences, working to reduce their emotional intensity and helping the mind and body to heal. One of my clients, for example, struggled with severe anxiety around food due to childhood bullying about her weight. Through EMDR, we were able to desensitize those painful memories, which helped her reduce anxiety and start enjoying meals again.

Identifying Negative Beliefs: In my sessions, we work on uncovering and addressing the negative beliefs that fuel the eating disorder. For instance, a client may believe they are only lovable if they are thin.

Exploring Key Memories: By identifying significant life events that reinforced these beliefs, clients often find it enlightening to create a narrative of where these thoughts originated. One client found that her struggles with food began after a particularly harsh comment from a family member during adolescence.

Reducing Emotional Intensity: EMDR helps lessen the emotional charge of these memories, making day-to-day reactions more manageable.

Breaking Down Negative Beliefs: This process helps dismantle strong negative beliefs about oneself, body, and eating habits.

Installing Positive Beliefs: Beyond dismantling strong negative beliefs, we also take time to create new, positive, and helpful thoughts to effectively replace the negative ones.

Future Planning: Another phase involves planning for upcoming or potential stressful scenarios, further reinforcing positive beliefs and ensuring preparedness for future challenges.

What are the Root Causes of Eating Disorders?

 Disordered eating is complex and multifaceted, with roots in both genetic and environmental factors. Research indicates that individuals with a family history of eating disorders, anxiety, or depression are more susceptible. Environmental factors, such as societal pressure to achieve an ideal body type, experiences of bullying, abusive relationships, and trauma, also play significant roles. Adolescents and young adults, particularly women, are at higher risk, though men and older adults can also be affected.

EMDR helps to break apart negative beliefs and reinforce positive ones, aiding clients in developing healthier relationships with food and their bodies.

Warning signs of eating disorders include drastic weight changes, preoccupation with food, dieting, and body image, and avoiding meals or situations involving food. Emotional symptoms often accompany these behaviors, such as extreme mood swings, withdrawal from social activities, and feelings of guilt or shame about eating. As a therapist, I find that addressing these root causes through EMDR can be incredibly effective.

EMDR specifically targets and treats these root causes by identifying deeply rooted core negative beliefs, exploring their origins, and using bilateral stimulation to desensitize the memory and decrease distress. For example, a client who developed an eating disorder after a traumatic experience might have a core belief that they are not worthy of care. Through EMDR, we work to identify and process the memories associated with this belief, reducing their emotional intensity and helping the client develop healthier self-perceptions. By doing so, EMDR helps to break apart negative beliefs and reinforce positive ones, aiding clients in developing healthier relationships with food and their bodies.

What Clients Can Expect from EMDR Therapy

Clients often ask about the logistics and what to expect from EMDR therapy. Typically, sessions last 60-90 minutes, and the number of sessions varies depending on individual needs, as EMDR is tailored to each person’s experiences and progress. Not all sessions involve bilateral stimulation, as time needs to be given to the preparation and planning of the EMDR treatment. Part of the EMDR process involves resourcing, where we build skills that can be used both in and out of sessions to manage intense feelings. In addition to EMDR, I integrate other therapeutic techniques like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to provide a personalized approach to help you better manage your relationship with food.

During the sessions, we use different methods of bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements or taps, to find what works best for the client. This can be adjusted as needed. EMDR can be effectively conducted remotely, providing flexibility for clients who may have difficulty attending in-person sessions.

 When can I expect to feel better after EMDR?

While I wish it were the case, unfortunately, there’s no set timeline for when you will feel better from EMDR. For some, it may take some time to notice the changes and effectiveness of the EMDR treatment. However, you may leave after one reprocessing session and feel immediate relief. Over time, you will notice a growing sense of emotional stability and feel less reactive to triggers. We’re often unable to completely process a memory within one session, which is normal, especially when memory networks are so complex. For this reason, some worry that they may feel worse before feeling a sense of relief.

Over time, you will notice a growing sense of emotional stability and feel less reactive to triggers.

An EMDR session will only be complete when you feel safe and grounded enough in your emotions to end the session. We take our time to contain any memories that have not been fully processed within the session in order to facilitate deeper exploration and understanding in subsequent sessions. It’s common and normal to feel a bit drained after an EMDR reprocessing session since reprocessing past memories and building new, positive connections can be exhausting. After all, this requires a lot of brain energy. While I would not say you “feel worse before you feel better” in the hours or days following an EMDR reprocessing session, is it possible to feel emotionally raw, or have a heightened awareness of emotions and triggers related to the reprocessing. Fluctuating emotions are normal, and we use the skills built in the resourcing phase to help us manage this.

Unique Benefits of EMDR

 As a therapist who specializes in trauma and eating disorders, I find EMDR’s somatic-based approach unique and highly effective. Unlike other methods, EMDR targets the root causes, core beliefs, and origins of disordered eating. It’s an evidence-based approach, meaning we know it works, although it’s essential to remember that it’s not a quick fix, especially for complex conditions like eating disorders.

Myths about EMDR

Can EMDR re-traumatize you?

There are some myths and misconceptions about EMDR and eating disorder treatment. One common concern is the fear of re-traumatization. Properly conducted EMDR is designed to avoid re-traumatizing clients by ensuring a safe, gradual process of memory processing. Another misconception is that only certain treatments are effective for eating disorders. EMDR is empirically supported and widely used across various mental health diagnoses, including eating disorders.

Does EMDR bring back repressed memories?

The primary goal of EMDR is not to uncover repressed memories, but to process and reduce the distress associated with traumatic memories. The recall of repressed memories is sometimes a byproduct of this process.This occurs because EMDR works by processing traumatic memories stored in the brain in a way that reduces their emotional charge. During EMDR sessions, clients focus on specific memories or feelings while engaging in bilateral stimulation, such as guided eye movements or tapping. This process can sometimes bring to the surface memories that were previously inaccessible or repressed. For this reason, I encourage you to consult with a licensed mental health professional who is trained in EMDR before embarking on this journey.

In my work, determining a client’s readiness for EMDR involves an assessment of their emotional stability, coping skills, and support systems. For example, I had a client who initially presented with an active eating disorder and fragmented memories of past trauma. Before starting EMDR, we spent several sessions building emotional resilience and teaching grounding techniques and coping strategies. This preparation included establishing a “safe place” visualization to help manage distress. By the time we began EMDR, my client had developed the necessary skills to handle the intense emotions that the therapy could evoke and felt ready to engage in the process.

Continuous monitoring and adjusting the approach as needed helps to ensure the client’s safety and readiness, allowing them to benefit fully from EMDR therapy. Feel free to explore this page for more information on who EMDR is and isn’t ideal for.

Healing is Possible

In my work as a licensed psychotherapist providing EMDR to countless clients, I have seen people make significant strides in their recovery from eating disorders. By addressing the root causes and core beliefs, EMDR offers a powerful tool for healing and transformation. Clients often report feeling more in control of their emotions and thoughts, leading to a healthier and more fulfilling life.