Debra Wesselmann links trauma treatment to reducing self-medication

EMDR therapist Debra Wesselmann says unresolved trauma can drive substance use and other risky coping behaviors, and that treating the trauma directly may help people make healthier choices. Her comments come after a KOLD 13 News interview on EMDR and self-medication, as U.S. substance use disorder rates remain elevated.

Why it matters: - Unresolved trauma can push people toward self-medication, unhealthy coping and other high-risk behaviors. - Wesselmann says trauma-informed treatment can address the root pain behind the behavior, not just the behavior itself. - The issue sits inside a broader U.S. substance use crisis, with SAMHSA reporting 48.4 million Americans age 12 and older, or 16.8% of the population, experienced a substance use disorder in 2024.

What happened: - Debra Wesselmann, an author and EMDR therapist with more than 35 years of experience, responded to a recent KOLD 13 News “Tucson Now” interview with Sallie Tyrrell of Cottonwood Tucson Treatment Center. - The interview focused on EMDR therapy and the effects of self-medication. - Wesselmann said the discussion reflects a core trauma-treatment question: what happens when people try to manage trauma without addressing trauma itself? - Wesselmann also said she shares Tyrrell’s view of EMDR as an effective therapy for processing difficult memories.

The details: - Wesselmann said unresolved trauma can keep the brain and body focused on protection and survival, making healthy choices harder. - She linked childhood trauma and unhealthy coping to decades of research, including the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study. - Wesselmann said people living with early childhood trauma may struggle to cope without help for the emotions, sensations and images tied to those experiences. - She said substances or other risky behaviors can become attempts to escape overwhelming memories and physical sensations connected to unresolved trauma. - Wesselmann said EMDR can be less verbally demanding than some other trauma therapies, which may matter for people with extreme, painful or embarrassing experiences. - Wesselmann said she integrates EMDR with other approaches, but prefers EMDR above all others. - She said EMDR therapy can calm distressing emotions, sensations, thoughts, intrusive images and the nervous system, while reducing triggers.

Between the lines: - The message reflects a trauma-informed shift in mental health care. - The focus moves from asking how to stop a behavior to asking what pain the behavior is managing. - Wesselmann’s framing suggests self-medication is often a symptom of unresolved trauma, not simply a standalone choice problem. - Her emphasis on EMDR aligns with a growing interest in therapies that process trauma without requiring extensive retelling.

What's next: - Wesselmann said completion of EMDR therapy can help traumatized people make new, healthy lifestyle choices. - She is available for interviews. - More information is available in her website.

The bottom line: - Wesselmann argues that lasting change starts by treating trauma at its source, not only the coping behavior it may produce.