Using EMDR to Treat Trauma in Borderline Personality Disorder

EMDR Therapy, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy, is a therapy designed to reduce distress associated with a traumatic or disturbing memory and to also rework negative thoughts surrounding the memory.

Let's learn more about this type of therapy and understand why it may be a good option for some people with borderline personality disorder. 

Why is EMDR Used in People with BPD?

While EMDR therapy was originally designed to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), it's now often used to treat a variety of mental health conditions, including anxiety disorders and depression — when a person with this disorder can identify a certain disturbing or traumatic memory.

What Is EMDR Therapy?

EMDR is considered an integrative approach to psychotherapy (i.e., talking therapy). This means that it draws on a number of different theoretical perspectives of treatment, like cognitive behavioral and psychodynamic perspectives. 

During an EMDR session, an EMDR therapist will ask the client to recall a single traumatic memory. Then a client will be asked to conjure up a visual image of the memory while simultaneously describing a negative thought associated with it. The person is also asked to share their negative emotions, like fear or anger, about the memory, and the physical sensations associated with these negative emotions.

The client will be asked to replace the negative thought with a positive thought while attending to a dual attention stimulus at the same time. The most common dual attention stimulus is lateral eye movements, which is moving the eyes left and right following the therapist's hand movements.

Dual attention stimuli are believed to facilitate the processing of painful or anxiety-producing memories, promoting deeper reprocessing of the stored memory. Other forms of dual stimulation involve the use of tapping of bilateral body parts (e.g., both knees) or tones stimulating both ears of the client at the same time.

Is EMDR Therapy Effective?

There have been a number of research studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of EMDR in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition, EMDR it's supported by the American Psychiatric Association in the treatment of trauma.

Despite the scientific evidence that EMDR is an effective treatment for trauma, this approach continues to generate some controversy due to the concern over whether eye movements and other forms of dual attention stimuli are really helpful in processing traumatic memories. 

A study published in the Journal of Behavioral Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry analyzed a number of scientific studies on EMDR, and the authors concluded that eye movements are valuable and do alter the processing of emotional memories. 

How Can I Find an EMDR Therapist?

If you are interested in finding an EMDR therapist, you may want to try the therapist directory provided by the EMDR International Association. You can also try asking your primary care physician, general practitioner, or psychiatrist for a referral.