EMDR and Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault: Overcoming Trauma and Moving On

“A 2018 analysis of prevalence data from 2000-2018 across 161 countries and areas, conducted by WHO on behalf of the UN Interagency working group on violence against women, found that worldwide, nearly 1 in 3, or 30%, of women have been subjected to physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner or non-partner sexual violence or both.” (1)

1 in 3!

That is one of the world’s most terrifying and terrible statistics. 

While we could write an entire book on why it shouldn’t happen and what we can do to prevent violence against women, that’s not what victims of domestic violence or sexual assault need. 

What victims need is to become survivors by taking charge of their traumas and getting these memories behind them.

Talk Therapy is One Option

Most people think of talk therapy as being the only type of therapy there is. Talk therapy involves going to the therapist’s office, setting in a chair or on a couch, and talking about how you feel.

This is very effective in dealing with how you feel, but it can take a long time. The problem is that it doesn’t engage both sides of your brain, the emotional and logical portions. 

EMDR Works

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a relatively new treatment that has been shown to have a profound effect on PTSD (port-traumatic stress disorder). 

Using EMDR, we’re able to decrease the pain of a trauma and help you move past the events. You can remember them, but they lose their power over you. 

Eye Movement - Using a light bar, your eyes will track a light back and forth. You might also use alternating left-to-right sounds or clickers in each of your hands. 

This engages both sides of your brain, left and right. The left handles logical thought. It’s the part that you need for thinking clearly about subjects. The right is the emotional part. When you’re feeling emotional pain, this is the part that’s engaged.

By engaging both sides of your brain, fixes can happen faster and more completely. In talk therapy, you’re usually only engaging one side or the other.

Desensitization - This is the part where you and your therapist will take the power of your memories from them. This will help you deal with them as what they really are, past events that hold no power over you. 

This desensitization is a powerful event. Memories and traumas that have been informing everything you do for a long time, sometimes for decades, will suddenly not cause you to respond.

Reprocessing - The final step of EMDR is reprocessing. We replace the old memories with fresh memories. This is the part where the victim becomes a survivor. You learn to see your trauma in a new way. 

Chances are you’ll never be happy about your trauma. EMDR can help to take all the power out of it.

New Patterns

One of the most famous patterns in an abuse survivor’s life is they tend to end up experiencing the same traumas again and again. 

With EMDR, you learn to short-circuit those habits. You can see your trauma more clearly for what it really is. This lets you get beyond trying to fix it by reliving it.

PTSD and Sexual Assault

When we hear PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), we usually think of soldiers returning home from combat with mental scars. 

While that’s a serious problem and a significant cause of PTSD, all kinds of traumas can cause it. Everything from a childhood full of abuse to a five-minute sexual assault can all leave scars and pain that lead to PTSD. No one form is more legitimate than any other. 

If you’ve been the victim of sexual assault or domestic voilence, you might have PTSD. It’s this condition that EMDR is so powerful at treating. By engaging the entire brain, EMDR can bring all the amazingly powerful internal resources you already have to bear against your traumas and pain.

The Most Important Thing to Know about Sexual Assault

The most important thing to know about sexual assault and domestic violence is it’s not your fault!

You didn’t bring it on.

You didn’t ask for it.

The person or persons who did this are the only people that are responsible for what happened. 

It’s not your fault!

A Note from Our Clinical Team

Hi,

I want you to read that part again: It’s not your fault.

The initial trauma is not your fault. It’s not your fault if you didn’t leave for years. It’s not your fault if you were in a relationship when you were sexually assaulted. 

You are not at fault for what happened or how you feel about it. 

I want you to know that our team at Sun Point Wellness Center in Lancaster, PA, are here for you.

First, you are safe with us. If you’re in danger now, we will help you find the resources you need to find safety. When you’re at our office, you will not be judged, second-guessed, or blamed.

Second, we will use everything in our power to help you heal. EMDR is a powerful tool, but we have others we will use to help you heal. We’ll help you stop these traumas from having power over you. Then we’ll look at how you can reprocess them and create fresh memories that will set you free to live again.

You are the most important person in the world. All that matters is that you heal and feel better. 

If you live in or near Lancaster, PA, the team at Sun Point Wellness Center is here for you. If you’re outside our area, please look for a great EMDR therapist. If you can’t find someone, please call us; we’re happy to help or even do remote sessions.

1 - Violence against women Prevalence Estimates, 2018. Global, regional and national prevalence estimates for intimate partner violence against women and global and regional prevalence estimates for non-partner sexual violence against women. WHO: Geneva, 2021