What is Bilateral Stimulation?
EMDR and Brainspotting both appear to produce a direct effect on the way the brain processes or re-processes upsetting material. Research suggests that attending to Bilateral Stimulation (a way of stimulating the brain one side at a time instead of allowing both sides to work together as they do normally) during EMDR and Brainspotting triggers an innate neurophysiological mechanism known as the “investigatory response” which in turn leads to “adaptive information processing.” Studies done with patients undergoing EMDR while in CAT scans (Computerized Axial Tomography) have shown physiological changes in the brain. With “adaptive information processing,” it is primarily the person’s own innate capacities and these chemical reactions, rather than the interpretations or thoughts of the therapist, that lead to adaptive changes in thinking and emotional self-regulation.
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