EMDR 2.0 – What it is, why we love it, and who should try it
By Lindsey York, LCSW EMDRIA Certified EMDR Therapist
Why I love EMDR
When I first trained in EMDR in the summer of 2020, the world of therapy opened up tome. I had been working with trauma survivors for several years in a community mental health setting and often struggled with the fact that the therapy modalities I was practicing encouraged clients to cope with their problems or think differently about them, but did little to solve them. I see the value in coping or thinking differently about the things we cannot change – but when working with trauma survivors, I desperately wanted to find a way to help people resolve their trauma rather than manage it. EMDR gave me a way to do that and I fell in love with it. It works!
Problems I sometimes encounter with EMDR
Practicing EMDR for a few years, gaining advanced training, and becoming certified in the modality was very rewarding for me. Clients were coming in with present day challenges and we were able to use EMDR to find out when those problems started and process the stressful or traumatic experiences that caused the problem in the first place (often, although not always, the origin occurred in childhood). However, overtime, I discovered some areas where EMDR was not the right fit to help with some particular challenges. Some of my clients found revisiting their trauma overwhelming. Sometimes clients felt like it took too long, or they would get bogged down in the process and I would have trouble helping them get free. When I learned about EMDR 2.0, I was excited because it seemed that this new adaptation solved those problems.
What is EMDR 2.0?
EMDR 2.0 is an spinoff of EMDR created by two psychologists from the Netherlands, Ad de Jongh, and Suzy Mathjissen. Ad and Suzy run a clinic called Psytrec where they conduct research and use EMDR 2.0 (sometimes in combination with exposure therapy) to treat and resolve PTSD, complex PTSD, and borderline personality disorder. Ad and Suzy have worked tirelessly to perfect their model and to teach others how to use it. After learning the protocol last year and beginning to use it in my practice, I recently also completed their 18 hour training and am working on becoming an approved provider of EMDR 2.0 because I find it so useful and effective from both a clinician and a client perspective (yes, therapists also go to therapy!).
How EMDR 2.0 is different
So, what makes EMDR 2.0 distinct? Basically, EMDR 2.0 uses a different mechanism to process the traumatic memories. Whereas regular EMDR uses eye movements, tapping, or tones to help a memory process, EMDR 2.0 might use all of those at one time. We might even bring in other strategies, like counting or spelling or listening to music in order to help the memory process. EMDR 2.0 uses a theory called Working Memory Theory, which basically states that a memory will break down and distress will dissipate when a memory is held in short term memory and then other tasks are also added in to short term memory – something has to give, and the target memory will eventually drop out of short term memory temporarily. When we bring it back, some of the distress will have disappeared. If we do this enough times, eventually the client will be able to think of the memory and experience no distress, even if it was really distressing at the time.
Why is this better?
When a client holds a memory in mind and does not have their working memory sufficiently taxed, they may experience the strong distress of the memory over and over again while holding it in their mind. With working memory taxed, the distress drops very quickly, making the overall experience much less emotionally exhausting. Therefore, EMDR 2.0 can be less upsetting than regular EMDR. It can move much more quickly, so while you may process a memory per session or even need a few sessions for one memory with regular EMDR, with EMDR 2.0 multiple memories can often be processed in one session.
Is EMDR 2.0 something I should try?
To be clear, I still love regular EMDR and the many modifications that help make it a great fit for a huge number of clients. I still practice both EMDR and EMDR 2.0 regularly. That said, EMDR 2.0 could be a great fit for you if:
• You have PTSD or complex PTSD
• You have tried other types of therapy, including traditional EMDR, and found that it didn’t work for you
• You have ADHD or executive function challenges that make it difficult to focus
• You are plagued by memories of experiences that are too horrible to think about
If your interest is piqued, please reach out and schedule an initial consultation with one of our talented EMDR therapists. We’d love to help you figure out if this unique modality can help you resolve your trauma and move you in the direction of the life you’ve dreamed of living.
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