EMDR and Spirituality

EMDR and spirituality can complement each other very well, with each having the ability to enhance the other. They can work together to promote your healing process and lead you to further spiritual growth.

What is EMDR?

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is a therapeutic modality designed to help people overcome traumatic events and other distressing situations. EMDR is a structured therapy that encourages the patient to focus briefly on a distressing symptom or trauma memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation (traditionally eye movements, but also can include tones, tapping, and somatic techniques), which is associated with a reduction in the intensity and emotion associated with the trauma memories. Research has shown that EMDR therapy is effective in helping people recover from trauma and PTSD symptoms. It is also effective for chronic pain, anxiety, panic attacks, OCD, depression, addictions, and other distressing life experiences.

EMDR therapy is a process in which the therapist prepares the client with appropriate resources, skills, and techniques to be able to do the processing of EMDR. During the processing, the therapist acts as a guide and safety net, helping the client desensitize and overcome the dysfunctional or traumatic material that has been holding them back.

What Level of Spirituality Can Be Brought to EMDR?

The level of spirituality involved in EMDR treatment can range widely. It can be a primary focus where your spirituality is a significant part of EMDR therapy. It can also be a minimal part, only addressed when it comes up. You and your nervous system guide how much spirituality is involved.

How Spirituality Works with EMDR

In application, EMDR helps recalibrate the nervous system. It helps reintegrate traumatic memories with other memories, experiences, and knowledge, often including spiritual experiences and knowledge. It can be especially effective when you cognitively know something but can’t feel it. Additionally, EMDR can work with any spiritual experience or worldview.

People who engage with their spirituality in therapy often have more positive outcomes than people who don’t. The beauty of EMDR is that it focuses on core beliefs, including spiritual beliefs. If you want to focus more on spirituality in your EMDR treatment, you must bring it in intentionally. Often, you can overcome beliefs that get in the way of your spirituality and bring yourself closer to your spirituality as you heal.

When you have beliefs about yourself due to trauma, such as “I am not good enough,” that does not align with your spiritual beliefs, such as “God loves me unconditionally,” EMDR can help to adjust your beliefs to bring them in line and resolve any feeling that may go with them, such as shame and guilt. I have seen Christian clients experience reductions in distress and PTSD symptoms, as well as growing in faith.

How Spirituality Can Enhance the Healing of EMDR?

 Something that often goes unrecognized is the spirituality that can complement EMDR and make it more meaningful for those who benefit from it. Spirituality has to do with all the things that help one feel more connected to something greater than oneself:  God, all humanity, the universe, etc. Spirituality is not limited to religious practices; many people practice religion to express their spirituality. 

There are a lot of EMDR resources that can incorporate spirituality. These resources can help you feel grounded, supported, and protected and help you reduce the triggered sensations and emotions. Being able to use your spirituality to cope with trauma and other conditions can help you in your healing process. They often can be more potent resources than ones without spiritual connections because they have your faith and beliefs supporting them. These are resources you can use in and out of therapy that can help you cope with your distress, pain, and struggles.

EMDR processing often incorporates your spirituality, especially when it helps heal what you are working on. For example, suppose you feel unloved but believe in a loving God. In that case, your spirituality may include believing that God loves you. Spirituality may consist of ideas of how to handle your spiritual struggles. For example, you may come up with what to pray about.

How Can EMDR Enhance Your Spirituality?

EMDR can help you to reinterpret what happened and change how past events affect you. It can help you through plateaus and roadblocks in your faith. I’ve seen clients be able to access their faith in a new way because the trauma that was interfering with their ability to access parts of their spirituality was processed and interpreted. For example, a client of mine who was struggling with feeling like she was unlovable was able to feel the love of God after going through EMDR processing.

Limitations of Spirituality and EMDR

Therapists are not spiritual experts (unless they also have the training). They are there to help you progress in your healing journey and improve your mental health. Therapists are not spiritual leaders, so they cannot answer questions about salvation issues or deeper spiritual issues. They can enhance your therapeutic experience with questions and insights but not answer spiritual questions.

EMDR uses what you already know. It may integrate truths you knew before with your past experiences to help you heal. Often, the insights that come up during EMDR processing come from beliefs, experiences, and knowledge that you had before but weren’t integrated with your traumatic or distressing experience.

EMDR can help you feel and grow in your beliefs but can’t help you reach complete healing or enlightenment on its own. It doesn’t change the fact that we are still human, with human fallibility and imperfection. We are still human and face distress and suffering in the world; EMDR and spirituality will not change that. EMDR does not answer spiritual questions unless you already have the answers inside of you and just have not made the connection.

Conclusion

EMDR can incorporate your spirituality and bring further healing. By combining your spiritual beliefs with EMDR, you can experience enhanced healing and spiritual growth.