EMDR/
Structural Dissociation Parts Work

What is EMDR?

The mind can often heal itself naturally, much like the body does, particularly during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Francine Shapiro developed Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) in 1987, utilizing this natural process to treat Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Since then, EMDR has effectively treated various mental health problems. EMDR is a therapeutic approach helpful for those who have experienced trauma, emotional wounds, or limitations. These traumas can range from childhood abuse, natural disasters, and sexual assaults to personal humiliations, disappointments, betrayals, and bereavement.

Research shows painful or traumatic experiences are stored differently in the brain than neutral ones. Typically, troubling events are processed through thinking, talking, and dreaming, leading to resolution. However, trauma interrupts this process, leaving traumatic material stuck in its original form, complete with the same thoughts, feelings, and sensations. This is why traditional talk therapy may not fully heal trauma. Researchers believe EMDR helps nudge this material, allowing it to reconnect with the healthy brain and be reprocessed rapidly. The theory suggests that eye movement during EMDR mimics the brain activity of REM sleep, where conflict resolution, information processing, and memory consolidation occur.

In simpler terms, EMDR enables the brain to process the stuck traumatic material, leading to adaptive resolution. The painful event becomes an unfortunate memory without the previous emotional pain.

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What is Structural Dissociation Parts Work?

Chronic trauma, especially during childhood through ongoing abuse or emotional neglect, can lead to structural dissociation. This self-defense mechanism occurs when the survivor must live with or regularly interact with the abuser and cannot avoid them.

In such cases, the survivor may turn against themselves, creating a split that redirects anger, resentment, and hurt inward instead of toward the abuser. This internal conflict transforms anger into unbearable guilt and shame, necessitating a separate self for survival. The complexity of structural dissociation increases with the intensity, frequency, and duration of the trauma, especially if it starts early in life.

Parts work therapy helps patients address the different parts of themselves formed through chronic trauma, aiming to bring a sense of peace and wholeness. For example, while working through a traumatic memory, one part of a person might seek relief, while another part might interfere to protect them from painful emotions. Many people have different parts of themselves, which does not imply multiple personalities or that everyone suffers from structural dissociation. For instance, an inner critic might echo a disapproving family member from the past. This critic is part of us but can feel separate from the part making the mistake.

Chronic trauma is often held within specific parts of ourselves, usually a "younger" self corresponding to the age when the trauma occurred. Parts work therapy aims to resolve these memories and ease emotional burdens by integrating the different parts of ourselves. Parts work is usually integrated into specific therapeutic approaches, with IFS (Internal Family Systems) and EMDR being two popular methods that incorporate parts work.

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