02/04/2025
EMDR CAN CURE PHOBIAS
By Harriet Achtentuch, LCSW
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) can be an effective tool to cure phobias! When phobias do not seem to respond to traditional therapies, think about EMDR. It is a model, using bilateral stimulation to process trauma and thereby eradicating the trauma and leaving the person healed. When processing a phobia, the focus of the EMDR would be on the original trauma that caused the phobia in the first place. After processing the original incident, the focus is on the left over trauma associated with the phobia. I have had much success using this model with agoraphobia and choking phobia.
The resolution of the patients' phobias is often swift and smooth. This is for what is called a "simple phobia", for which there are no other complicating factors. The goal of EMDR is to alter the way the person sees the original trauma and the purpose the phobia serves in their life. Once the person realizes that the phobia serves no purpose, it will no longer have a hold on their life.
Recently a 35 year old, newly divorced woman was referred to me for a choking phobia. She had moved out of her marital home a year ago and began to experience fear of swallowing leading to decreased eating and difficulty swallowing, which had persisted for 12 months. Patient had an original traumatic event when she was 13 years old when she believed that she was choking on a chicken bone. Upon medical examination, there was nothing lodged in her throat but, rather, it was diagnosed as a panic reaction. Patient did not develop a phobia at that time. Fast forward many years to the dissolution of her marriage, and this new trauma seemed to trigger memories of the original near choking trauma and rendered her afraid to swallow.
Patient reported that she avoided many types of foods such as chicken, steak, toast and other items which she believed would be difficult to swallow and would be choking hazards. My patient would spend a long time eating, chewing deliberately and had great anxiety during each meal. She could not eat in restaurants with friends because it took so long to eat and she felt very humiliated. This limited her social life and her ability to begin dating and meet a new partner.
The beginning of the EMDR process focused on the original trauma of believing that she was choking on the chicken bone. Once this trauma was "cleaned out" of her psyche, the work focused on the negative beliefs of "I am not in control" and "I do not trust myself to eat normally". After a few sessions, these negative beliefs no longer had any hold on her, as her and her thoughts were able to change and left her believing that she was in control of her eating and her life. It came out that the phobia served the function of "protecting" her since she felt she was not able to protect herself. After the treatment,my patient now believes that she can take care of herself and does not need this protective part to come into play. She can now eat anything she wants without any fear! She has begun dating someone special and is thrilled with her progress. She reports being 100% symptom free. EMDR was an effective tool,h4e giving my patient a new lease on life
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