Your Mind is a Filing Cabinet: EMDR and the AIP Model
If you know me, I spend a lot of time in my head. I draw analogies to gain understanding, clutching metaphors close to me as I try to make sense of this chaotic world and human experience. If you didn’t know this about me, now you do.
To me, these metaphors and mental pictures help with memory. They are the glue that keeps the information connected to meaning. It’s like in Kindergarten when you’re learning the days of the week so you sing them to the tune of The Adam’s Family theme song. Okay, maybe not all of us learned it that way, but the alphabet is a classic example of what I’m getting at here.
If you’re here in my small corner of the internet – on this blog page, I mean – I imagine you’re curious about EMDR. Perhaps, this is the first time you’ve encountered this hard-to-recall acronym or maybe you’ve heard it in passing through a friend, on social media, or a therapist. Regardless of how you got here, I want to paint a picture for you to help you truly understand.
There are countless pages of research-heavy articles where you could discover that decades-long studies have proven Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Though, in my experience, I’ve found that regardless of how much people scour the internet reading about or watching videos explaining EMDR they still feel a bit unclear.
Word picture time. Buckle up.
You’re standing in a large room filled with file cabinets. There’s ample lighting, without harsh fluorescents blinding you as you look around. Your eyes take in the scene, noticing some of the cabinets are neatly labeled and closed, others are half open with papers carelessly stuffed inside, and there’s a chaotic array of papers on the floor that lay in loose piles.
You narrow your eyes and are able to make out a few closed drawers that read: Family Vacations, 1st Grade, Grandma, and Pets.
This file room is your brain. These dense, labeled cabinets are where you have stored Adaptive Information. More simply, information that your brain has easily stored and processed. Your brain tucks away and organizes information that is neutral and positive like a well-greased machine.
You glance down at the papers that rest beneath your feet, realizing some of them have red stamped ink declaring “DO NOT TRUST’ or “ALWAYS BAD”. None of the papers seem to make any logical sense as they’re haphazardly strewn about. Just looking at them causes your heart rate to spike.
These papers are distressing information that your brain has struggled to process and file away appropriately. We call this Maladaptive Information. Unfortunately, this means it’s also the first accessible piece of information when trying to organize and understand future experiences regardless of their neutrality.
As you look closer, you notice a piece of paper that describes a time your friend yawned during a story you were telling. It has been stamped with red letters: I’M ANNOYING. Apprehensively, you gently slide the paper over to see what’s underneath. Another paper, but this one depicts a time when your friends in grade school told you that you talk too much and to shut up.
Taking it all in, trying to remain calm…those are memories you’ve done your best to forget. You shift your attention to some of the drawers that are half open with papers sticking out.
Well, see…that’s what I mean. Our brains are hard-wired for desiring organization and appropriate storage of the information we take in. Except, it isn’t a perfect system. Sometimes a folder needs to be relabeled or papers have been misplaced. Hell, sometimes a whole new cabinet needs to be brought in. That’s not an easy feat, so we’re left with maladaptive, unprocessed information that remains untouched or mistakenly shoved in a folder where it doesn’t quite fit leaving it open and exposed, ready to set you off you at any moment.
This file room is the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) Model, the primary theory behind EMDR.
With an EMDR therapist, they can administer bilateral stimulation – alternating stimulation between the left and right sides of the body – to help you reorganize the maladaptive information that has been left unprocessed so that you can move forward without feeling triggered or overwhelmed by your past. You can carefully sort through the papers on the floor and the ones sticking up keeping the drawer from closing so that you no longer feel the aching constant reminders of the experiences that have caused you pain. When they have been filed away, neatly and adaptively, you can access them if you need to with a sense of control.
Here’s what to remember:
The name is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
It’s an Evidence-based treatment for PTSD and trauma
The therapist administers alternating stimulation of the left and right sides of the client’s body called bilateral stimulation
The foundational theory is the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) Model (your mind’s filing system)
Adaptive Information = neutral and positive information that gets easily stored in memory
Maladaptive Information= distressing or traumatic information that gets “stuck” and causes continued disturbance
You might be wondering whether EMDR could help you…I mean, you certainly feel like there is a mess on the floor of your mind and you’re struggling to make sense of it.
If you’re interested in the journey to organizing your mind using the AIP model and EMDR Therapy, I offer in-person and virtual therapy to Connecticut residents. Learn more about working with me here. Otherwise, you can use the EMDRIA Therapist Directory to find a therapist near you.
Until next time,
Laura
Relevant articles:EMDR and the Adaptive Information Processing Model: Potential Mechanisms of Change (PDF)EMDR Case Formulation Tool (PDF)Idealization and Maladaptive Positive Emotion: EMDR Therapy for Women Who Are Ambivalent About Leaving an Abusive Partner (PDF)Disclaimer: This is in no way a replacement for a therapeutic relationship or mental health services. This is for educational purposes only and should be in used only in conjunction in working with a licensed mental health professional. Reading this blog or responding to it does not constitute a provider-patient relationship. If you are looking for a local mental health professional feel free to use the contact tab to request an appointment or search Therapy Den for local therapists in your area. If this is a mental health emergency and you need immediate assistance please call 911 or your local crisis line to speak to a mental health professional.
I’m Laura Pisani, a Licensed Professional Counselor and EMDR Certified Therapist who journeys with adults who are struggling with relational trauma, attachment, and dissociation. I firmly believe in cultivating empowerment through shared-decision making with my clients and am an advocate for social justice. My approach is deeply relational and human— acting as a strainer for analytic minds to sift through what’s holding them back and guiding them through the depths of their very human experience.
I own a small psychotherapy practice in Connecticut offering individual services in-person and online.
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