Could tapping yourself treat trauma?

The new NHS therapy

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‘I suggest you go in with an open mind’

Post-pandemic many of us are struggling with our mental health. Whether we’ve experienced trauma through losing a loved one, suffered with stress from job loss or money worries or struggled with isolation and loneliness, our minds, as well as our bodies, have been put to the test over the past 18 months. So what can we do to help ourselves recover? If celebrity ravings are anything to go by, the newest therapy on the block could help.

ROYAL SEAL OF APPROVAL

Prince Harry hasn’t exactly been getting a brilliant press recently, but there’s one story emerging from the royal that could have a more positive effect. In May, he revealed to Oprah, on the pair’s new Apple TV+ show, how a certain therapy helped him process the trauma of losing his mother. EMDR (eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing), which involves tapping and eye movement (called bi-lateral stimulation), is, according to the Duke of Sussex, a mental health saviour.

The therapy – also popular with broadcaster Kate Garraway and Hollywood actress Evan Rachel Wood – involves tapping your hand on your body, or moving your eyes from side to side while replaying the traumatic event.

TREATMENT FOR TRAUMA

The NHS now offers two different types of therapy to deal with trauma, CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) and EMDR. The latter, which is used extensively by the military to help with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), was invented in 1987 by senior research fellow Dr Francine Shapiro at the Mental Research Institute in California. It’s based on the idea that the mind can heal from trauma by using external stimuli (eye movement or tapping) to allow the brain to process the traumatic event.

It’s thought that thinking about the event while doing mundane tasks creates a new default memory, and allows our brains to cope better.

British actress Jameela Jamil, who underwent EMDR for childhood trauma, explained how it helped remove the emotion linked to a traumatic memory. ‘Things I used to find terrifying are now boring to me,’ she said. She recalled how revisiting the memory made her feel distressed, but as the therapy session progressed the feelings dissipated and they never came back.

‘It works by encouraging you to think about a memory that you find upsetting or disturbing and, in doing so, the memory begins to lose its intensity,’ explains chartered psychologist Dr Jane McNeill. ‘Fundamentally the memory isn’t forgotten, however, it has been desensitised and reprocessed.’ She adds, ‘Overwhelming traumatic events are not stored like other memories in the brain and can remain active and intrusive. A noise or smell that brings back the memory of an accident, for example, can trigger the brain to respond as if the accident is happening in the present. EMDR enables the brain to process and store the memory correctly.’

SO DOES IT ACTUALLY WORK?

Psychology professors Scott O Lilienfeld (Emory University) and Hal Arkowitz (University of Arizona), who co-authored a paper entitled EMDR: Taking a Closer Look, believe the answer isn’t straightforward. They reveal that studies have shown it’s certainly better than doing nothing, and is probably better than talking to a supportive listener, but they don’t think there’s enough evidence to suggest it’s superior to exposurebased treatments, such as CBT.

Yet EMDR is widely recognised by international organisations and medical experts. ‘Alongside trauma-focused

CBT, EMDR is the frontline evidencebased treatment for PTSD, as recommended by the NHS, the NICE guidelines (National Institute for Clinical Care and Excellence) and the WHO, and is also used by the UN and the Ministry of Defence,’ explains Dr McNeill.

Emotional trauma expert

Antonia Harman believes that just a few EMDR sessions can have the same benefit as years of psychotherapy. ‘Unresolved trauma can lead to years of deep suffering and trigger a multitude of illnesses, so anything that can be done to lessen emotional pain is beneficial,’ she says. It might not work for everyone, she adds, but it’s worth a try. ‘I strongly suggest you go in with an open mind,’ she says.

IT’S NEVER TOO LATE

Traumatic events, like a death, can be very difficult to come to terms with and, often, the only way to overcome PTSD is with professional help. The NHS believes it’s possible for PTSD to be successfully treated many years after the event (like Prince Harry and the death of his mother), which means it’s never too late to seek help. It’s important to keep trying out options, to find one that works for you.