Common themes in EMDR for the Asian American experience

As an Asian American therapist, I’ve noticed that EMDR has been highly beneficial for many of my clients. In Asian culture, we are oftentimes encouraged to be more in tune with our thinking/cerebral/intellectual side - many times at the expense of also being in tune with our emotional side. There is a difference between “thinking about your feelings” and “feeling your feelings”, and oftentimes I see Asian American individuals in my practice struggle with moving past intellectualization.

When we don’t truly feel our feelings and process them in our nervous system we end up with a queue of unprocessed emotions and it comes up in a plethora of different ways.

Perhaps you notice that every time you see your parents for the holidays you feel snappy and upset, almost in the same way that you did as a teen. Maybe a friend asks you about a touchy subject and you notice that you’re feeling hot and having physiological sensations anytime you’re reminded. Perhaps it shows up in feeling shut down, dissociated, and out in tune with your emotions and it’s causing problems in your current relationships.

Whatever the experience, it can be extremely frustrating for folks to feel like your body is responding from the trauma of the past, when you know your present day is different now.

EMDR helps you process stuck emotions through memories yes, but also by targetting what we call negative cognitions.

Some common negative cognitions I see in my practice with Asian American folks?

-I have to be perfect

-I am not good enough

-It is not safe to show my emotions

-I have to please everyone

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Working with a culturally specific therapist who is trained in a bottom-up modality like EMDR that works with your emotions in your body can help you begin to process all of the emotions and trauma that’s been “backed up” in your body and help you release it to feel more grounded and present in the moment.