Renowned Southern actress Parvathy Thiruvothu recently garnered significant praise for her candour after opening up about her intensive mental health journey. The two-time Kerala State Film Award winner revealed that after years of struggling with trauma and a “dark phase” in early 2021, she found profound relief through Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. So what is this specialised treatment, considered by some experts as a vital tool for those dealing with deep-seated emotional wounds?
The Mechanism of Healing
EMDR is a structured psychotherapy developed by psychologist Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s. Unlike traditional “talk therapy”, which focuses on verbalising and dissecting memories, EMDR is designed to help the brain’s natural information-processing
system “digest” traumatic experiences that have become “stuck”.
The therapy is based on the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model. This theory posits that when a person experiences a severe trauma—such as the childhood and teenage abuse Parvathy bravely recounted—the brain may struggle to store the memory correctly. Instead of becoming a past event, the trauma remains “frozen” in its raw, emotional form. When triggered, the individual does not just remember the event; they often relive the physical sensations and intense shame associated with it.
The Role of Bilateral Stimulation
The defining feature of EMDR is bilateral stimulation (BLS). During a session, a therapist guides the patient to recall a distressing image or thought while simultaneously engaging in rhythmic, left-to-right sensory input. This is typically achieved through:
Eye Movements: Following the therapist’s hand or a light bar as it moves back and forth.
Tactile Taps: Holding vibrating “buzzers” or receiving gentle taps on the hands.
Auditory Tones: Listening to alternating sounds through headphones.
Scientists believe this side-to-side stimulation mimics the biological mechanisms of Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, the stage of sleep where the brain processes the day’s events. By activating both hemispheres of the brain while focusing on a trauma, EMDR helps the mind reprocess the memory, stripping away its emotional “charge” and allowing the person to view the event with more detachment.
Critics often argue that EMDR’s success relies on standard exposure therapy rather than bilateral stimulation, which some dismiss as “pseudoscience”. Sceptics suggest that eye movements are an unnecessary “purple hat” added to established cognitive techniques. Additionally, concerns persist regarding its efficacy for complex trauma compared to other evidence-based treatments.
The Eight-Phase Journey
EMDR therapy follows a highly structured, eight-phase protocol designed to identify and reprocess traumatic memories while building emotional resilience.
Phase 1: History-Taking and Treatment Planning
The therapist gathers information about your background, current symptoms, and specific “targets” for treatment. This includes past traumatic events, current triggers, and the goals you want to achieve.
Phase 2: Preparation
The therapist explains the EMDR process and equips you with coping strategies. You might develop a “Safe Place” or “Calm Place”—a mental image you can return to if the work becomes too distressing. This phase ensures you can handle the emotional shifts during reprocessing.
Phase 3: Assessment
You select a specific visual image from a target memory. You then identify:
The Negative Cognition (NC): A self-limiting belief (e.g., “I am powerless”).
The Positive Cognition (PC): What you would rather believe (e.g., “I am strong”).
SUDs and VOC: You rate your distress on the Subjective Units of Disturbance (SUD) scale (0–10) and the truth of the positive belief on the Validity of Cognition (VOC) scale (1–7).
Phase 4: Desensitisation
This is the core of the treatment. While focusing on the traumatic image and negative belief, you engage in bilateral stimulation (eye movements, taps, or tones). The goal is to lower your SUD score to zero (or as low as possible).
Phase 5: Installation
Once the distress is gone, the therapist uses bilateral stimulation to strengthen the Positive Cognition. The aim is to make that empowering belief feel completely true in relation to the old memory, reaching a VOC score of 7.
Phase 6: Body Scan
You think about the target event and the positive belief while scanning your body for any lingering physical tension or discomfort. If you feel “tightness” or “heaviness,” further bilateral stimulation is used until the physical sensation is cleared.
Phase 7: Closure
Every session ends with closure to ensure you feel stable and safe before leaving. If a memory was not fully reprocessed, the therapist will use calming techniques to “close down” the session and provide instructions on what to expect between appointments.
Phase 8: Re-evaluation
At the start of the next session, the therapist checks if the progress made on previous targets has held. They assess your current emotional state and determine if you are ready to move on to a new memory or if the current one needs more work.
For many, EMDR is a “game-changer” because it can achieve in months what traditional therapy might take years to address. By removing the emotional blockages of the past, it can enable some individuals to live fully in the present, transforming memories from debilitating burdens into integrated life experiences.
