Can EMDR help you heal from religious trauma?
If you believe you may have religious trauma, and are interested in processing that with a therapist or engaging in EMDR, consider reaching out to us here so that we can connect and see if we could be a good fit to work with you.
What is EMDR?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is a type of trauma therapy that utilizes eye movements (or any back and forth motion) as you reprocess traumatic events that you were unable to understand as they happened. It is effective, well-researched, and was developed in the 90’s for veterans with PTSD.
Neuroscience shows that trauma can hinder language processing in the brain, making it extremely difficult to talk about or explain what happened. EMDR allows for processing the trauma without necessarily having to talk through or explain the experience.
How Does it Help With Religious Trauma?
Religious trauma can result in PTSD symptoms like intrusive memories, flashbacks, disrupted sleep or appetite, dissociation, and more. EMDR is proven to relieve many of these symptoms. It can help alleviate sensitivity to trauma triggers, improve sleep quality and appetite, and increase self-confidence and awareness.
5 Ways it Helps:
1) It allows you to process distressing memories. EMDR works by reprocessing traumatic memories and reducing their emotional intensity. For someone with religious trauma, EMDR can help you process memories of church experiences, friends, and teachings without feeling emotionally overwhelmed by them.
2) It can help increase emotional regulation. Religious trauma can result in overwhelming fear, shame, or anger, particularly when these emotions are tied to beliefs about morality, sin, or divine judgment. EMDR can help reprocess these emotions, allowing individuals to experience them to a lesser degree and manage them in a healthy way.
3) It can decrease anxiety and shame. Many people with religious trauma have a fear of punishment, shame, or a sense of unworthiness which can result in sever anxiety. EMDR can target these negative beliefs and replace them with more adaptive, positive beliefs about onself, such as “I am worthy” or “I am safe.”
4) It can help you restore a sense of control. People with religious trauma often feel disempowered, having been spiritually abused by religious leaders or ideologies that were designed to control, degrade, and manipulate them. EMDR can help restore a sense of autonomy and self-worth by healing the psychological wounds that lead to powerlessness.
5) It can help you integrate your identity and beliefs. Religious trauma can lead to confusion and disintegration of one’s identity, especially if leaving or challenging a belief system has caused internal conflict. EMDR can help individuals process this cognitive dissonance, allowing for a more integrated and stable sense of self.
Other Considerations
It’s important to work with an EMDR therapist who is sensitive to the nuances of religious trauma and understands the unique challenges posed by religious experiences and belief systems. It’s also important to consider your own personal readiness, since EMDR can bring up painful or distressing memories. It is important you’re in a place where you feel ready to confront them in a safe environment.
If you’re in Colorado and want to work with an EMDR therapist who understands the nuances of church hurt and religious trauma, you can contact us here and request to work with Tara. If you’re in another state, you can search for a therapist who lists EMDR as a specialty for working with trauma.