Bilateral Stimulation: Definition, Methods, Benefits, and Effectiveness

Bilateral stimulation, drawing from EMDR therapy, is sometimes referred to as “resource installation” or “resource tapping” and is a method of processing traumatic memories and recalling and strengthening resources. It helps people recall fragmented traumatic memories to integrate and process them. What is Bilateral Stimulation?

What Does Bilateral Stimulation Do?

Bilateral stimulation helps people process traumatic memories.

• The practice increases communication between the left and right hemispheres of the brain, increasing a therapist’s and client’s ability to access traumatic memories and making focusing on them less unpleasant.
• During a bilateral stimulation session, the therapeutic process may evoke emotions, bodily sensations, and thoughts associated with a traumatic memory.

Research and Effectiveness

Several studies have shown that EMDR therapy that features bilateral stimulation can be highly effective

• For instance, a 2009 study by researchers from the Institute for Neurological Research in Buenos Aires, Argentina investigated whether bilateral stimulation affected chronic pain
• Through surveys including the Short-Form Health Survey, the researchers determined that the treatment effectively reduced chronic pain, pain-related neglect, and levels of anxiety and depression in the participants

Key Takeaways

Those who have experienced trauma can benefit from the increased processing fostered by bilateral stimulation.

• Bilateral stimulation continues to help many people live with trauma; those who want to try this method can start by finding a therapist who practices this technique using the EMDR International Association directory.

How Does Bilateral Stimulation Work?

Traumatic memories are not processed and stored the way other memories are because, during a traumatic experience, a person’s information processing system is derailed. This leaves memories fragmented, unprocessed, and can cause symptoms and issues that disrupt a person’s life.

• Bilateral stimulation helps clients process these fragmented memories and reduce the associated symptoms.

Conditions That Might Benefit From Bilateral Stimulation

This process is used to help people process traumatic memories, and as such, children, adolescents, and adults with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can benefit greatly.

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