Bilateral Stimulation in Art Therapy: How the Expressive Therapies Continuum Supports Trauma Healing

What Is Bilateral Stimulation?

Bilateral stimulation is a key component of EMDR therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and involves activating the left and right sides of the brain in an alternating rhythm. This process taps into the brain’s natural capacity to process information and heal from trauma. It often looks like therapist-guided tapping, side-to-side eye movements, alternating sounds, or vibrations — and is designed to connect the emotional/expressive brain with the thinking/logical brain.

How Bilateral Drawing Works in EMDR-Informed Art Therapy

In trauma-informed art therapy, we can access similar neural pathways through a creative process called bilateral drawing. Rather than relying on eye movements alone, clients engage both hands by holding art materials in each hand and crossing movements over the body’s midline. This rhythmic, sensory-rich motion stimulates both hemispheres of the brain while supporting nervous system regulation and deeper emotional processing.

The Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC): A Brain-Based Map for Healing

Kinesthetic and Sensory Processing
This tier is all about movement, texture, play, and embodied expression — such as scribbling, squeezing clay, or working with finger paints.

Perceptual and Affective Engagement
Here we begin using recognizable forms, colors, and shapes — tapping into emotional awareness, visual organization, and affect expression.

Symbolic and Cognitive Integration
This level leans into metaphor, storytelling, meaning-making, and insight — helping clients integrate their healing experience in a way that “makes sense.”

Try This Simple Bilateral Drawing Exercise at Home

Grab a large sheet of paper and two markers, pens, pastels, or crayons.
Sit comfortably and place your paper flat in front of you.
Hold a tool in each hand, and begin moving both hands simultaneously. Try drawing a figure-8, moving side to side, or playing with loops and vertical lines — allowing your hands to cross the body’s midline as much as possible. Let it be messy, sensory, playful, and unplanned. There is no “wrong way” to engage.

Why Bilateral Stimulation Supports Trauma Recovery

Bilateral movement in art therapy helps clients regulate the nervous system, access deeper parts of their emotional experience, and process memories that may be “stuck” in the body. When paired with the Expressive Therapies Continuum, bilateral drawing becomes a powerful way to move beyond talk therapy alone — integrating the brain, body, and creative spirit in service of trauma healing.