My Contact Information is
Claudia Hirsemann, LCSW (865) 851-1414 [email protected] PsychologyToday page claudiahirsemannlcsw.weebly.com |
Bilateral Stimulation TherapyBilateral Stimulation an eye movement treatment that utilizes back and forth eye movements guided by a trained therapist. It mimics the Rapid Eye Movement sleep stage when the brain is incorporating memories, both mental and physical, of daily and past life experiences. It accesses the unconscious part of the brain and basically places the memories where they belong. When an event is paired with and intense emotion it burns into the brain. If the event is one that exceeds the level of coping skills one possesses, it becomes a trauma. Trauma can also result from prolonged adverse experiences either in childhood or adulthood. With trauma, the reexperiencing; whether it be in nightmares, somatic feelings, avoidance, or hypervigilance; is always there biting the person in the background in everything they do. This treatment breaks the relationship between the emotions and images associated with the traumatic event apart. For simplicity sake let’s say the brain is divided into two parts, right hemisphere and left hemisphere. The right is emotional and the left is logical. When a trauma happens, it heightens emotions and vigilance. When this occurs the left brain, logic, checks out, leaving the right brain to try to figure out and make sense of the situation. Since it is incapable of doing so without the left brain, the trauma lingers and nightmares, somatic feelings, avoidance, and/or hypervigilance continue. Bilateral stimulation incorporates the trauma into both brains so they can make sense of it together, rendering it no longer intrusive |