How does EMDR Therapy work?
How EMDR works is still a hypothesis; however, the most widely accepted theories are three.
The first, that of Van den Hout et al. (2011), posits that saccadic eye movements interfere with the way working memory processes information. The benefits occur because of the limited capacity of working memory, which is simultaneously focused on dual attention (eye movements and negative recall). Because of this, the memory becomes less vivid and loses its emotional charge, which facilitates reprocessing.
The second theory, that of Stickgold (2002), is associated with information processing during the REM sleep phase. Researchers have shown that saccadic eye movements induce a relaxation response, which psychophysiologically decreases arousal (emotional and physiological arousal). The hypothesis is that this relaxation response is a reaction to a change in the environment, part of an orienting response that is generated by changes in attention brought about by repeated bilateral stimulation.
On the other hand, EMDR 2. 0 of Ad de Jongh and Suzy Matthijssen (2024) incorporates the Working Memory Overload Theory, which expands on the concept of Van den Hout et al. According to this theory, working memory has a limited capacity to process information, and when subjected to additional cognitive load (such as rapid, wide eye movements or combined bilateral stimulation), it becomes overloaded. This overload causes the traumatic memory to lose it´s emotional intensity, as the brain cannot hold all the information vividly. By overloading the working memory, memories are processed more efficiently, reducing their emotional charge and facilitating their integration into long-term memory.