Bilateral drawing: Self-regulation for trauma reparation

Bilateral drawing reflects Shapiro’s model of EMDR treatment that involves dual-attention stimulation to help an individual with trauma.

Article Description

“Key Points:

• Bilateral stimulation engages both hemispheres of the brain, connecting “thinking” to feeling,” which has an impact on trauma recovery.
• Bilateral stimulation may help regulate body and mind, allowing trauma survivors’ explicit memory to be reconnected with their implicit memory.
• Bilateral drawing, a form of art therapy, can be used by trauma survivors to ground themselves. This can reduce the freeze response.”

—Description from publisher

Article Access

Open Access 

Malchiodi, C. (2015). Bilateral drawing: Self-regulation for trauma reparation. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/arts-and-health/201509/bilateral-drawing-self-regulation-trauma-reparation