Benefits of EMDR for Addiction

Using EMDR for addiction can be one of the best options for helping someone to overcome their struggle. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a form of trauma therapy that helps people lessen the impact of trauma in their lives.

Trauma often leads someone to use drugs and alcohol to cope. Conversely, addiction often leads to trauma. Regardless of how it develops, it is crucial to heal from trauma to live a happy and healthy life.

EMDR Benefits

EMDR is a therapeutic approach often used in the treatment of PTSD and trauma. One of the key benefits is that this therapy helps to reduce the emotional distress caused by traumatic memories quickly. It helps by aiding individuals to process trauma and turn negative thoughts into more productive ones.

This helps lead to reduced stress and anxiety surrounding the incidents. EMDR for addiction promotes enhancing coping mechanisms and resilience. This helps the individual to manage current and future stressors much more effectively. 

EMDR Goals and Approaches

The goal of this form of therapy is to reduce and alleviate the effects of traumatic memories and improve overall mental health. The approach involves 8 phases, these phases are designed to create a smooth process toward healing.

These phases are:

• History: Gathering a detailed history of past trauma and triggers.
• Preparation: Explaining the EMDR process, building trust, and providing positive coping skills for use during and between sessions.
• Assessment: Identifying the targeted memory and associated negative beliefs and emotions, and desired positive ones.
• Desensitization: Focusing on the traumatic memory while participating in bilateral stimulation, or BLS (eye movement, tapping, or auditory tones) to help reduce the impacts of the memory on the brain.
• Installation: The therapist aids in enforcing positive thoughts to replace negative ones.
• Body scan: The individual scans their body for residual tension and then addresses it with BLS.
• Closure: Ensuring the client is stable before ending the session.
• Re-evaluation: Before the next session, there is a review of progress and assessment of any changes, and then the phases begin again.

EMDR Therapy for Addiction

Drug and alcohol addiction leads to negative impacts on someone’s overall well-being. EMDR for addiction allows someone to work through recent and past traumas to not only heal from them but also overcome their addiction. Leaving trauma untreated leads to continued drug and alcohol abuse and exacerbates the trauma responses.

EMDR Protocol for Addiction

The EMDR protocol for addiction is in place to help get to the root causes of addiction. The steps taken during each session are in place to help the individual learn how to deal with triggers positively, without returning to the use of drugs and alcohol.

The phases of EMDR for addiction previously stated help to ensure that the traumatic memories are addressed, and the individual can enforce a more healthy thought process than they previously did. 

EMDR Therapy for Drug Addiction

Drug and alcohol addiction treatment generally consists of a combination of medication and therapy. EMDR therapy for drug addiction helps someone who is struggling to identify how their trauma can affect their substance use patterns. It helps them to identify the negative behaviors leading to self-destructive actions, such as using drugs and alcohol to cope.

Undergoing EMDR allows the individual to face the traumatic experience, in a controlled environment with a professional who can help guide them through it without retraumatizing them. Left untreated, it is likely that any underlying traumas can and will contribute to relapse. 

Side Effects

Because of the nature of this therapy, EMDR for addiction can lead to several side effects. These side effects can include emotional distress from revisiting the traumatic experience.

This can cause increased anxiety sadness, or other intense emotions. Physical reactions that may occur can include fatigue, headaches, dizziness, or stomach aches.

Reprocessing of the trauma may also result in vivid dreams or nightmares as the brain continues processing the event. This therapy can also lead to heightened awareness of emotions and memories between sessions. This is why it is vital to see the process through to the end.

EMDR Therapy for Addiction Treatment

EMDR therapy for addiction helps to create a pathway to greater success. This kind of therapy helps to address the underlying causes of addiction, whether it be drugs or alcohol and helps the individual to work through the things leading to substance abuse.

Using EMDR for addiction helps to not only heal trauma, and alleviate the impact, but it also helps to prevent relapse in those who are seeking to recover from drug and alcohol addiction. 

EMDR for Alcoholism

Like drug addiction, alcoholism can also result from, or in, trauma. This therapy helps those who are struggling with alcohol the same way it helps those who struggle with drug abuse. By allowing the individual a space where they can safely explore their trauma and responses they can learn positive skills to overcome the negative impacts.

Healing is crucial to preventing relapse and further traumatization. EMDR for alcohol addiction is a healthy way of overcoming trauma and its impacts.

You Don’t Have to Recover Alone

Addiction is something that affects every aspect of an individual’s life. Learning to live without drugs and alcohol is a process that takes time and work. EMDR is beneficial for helping those who struggle with substances to begin a new way of life. If you or a loved one are struggling, we can help. At Flatirons Recovery we strive to provide state-of-the-art treatment to those seeking recovery from addiction.

Call us today and begin your journey with compassion and support.