No one knows how any form of psychotherapy works neurobiologically or in the brain. However, we do know that when a person is very upset, their brain cannot process information as it does ordinarily. One moment becomes “frozen in time,” and remembering a trauma may feel as bad as going through it the first time because the images, sounds, smells, and feelings haven’t changed. Such memories have a lasting negative effect that interferes with the way a person sees the world and the way they relate to other people.
EMDR and Brainspotting seems to have a direct effect on the way that the brain processes information.
Following a successful EMDR/Brainspotting protocol. Normal Information processing is a person no longer relives the images, sounds, and feelings when the event is brought to mind. You still remember what happened, but it is less upsetting. EMDR and Brainspotting appears to be similar to what occurs naturally during dreaming or REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Therefore, these modalities can be thought of as a physiologically based therapy that helps a person see disturbing material in a new and less distressing way.
*Information taken from www.emdria.org. For more information please go to www.emdria.org or www.brainspotting.org