EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences (trauma). It was designed by Francine Shapiro in the late 1980’s.

It is widely assumed that severe emotional pain requires a long time to heal.  EMDR therapy shows that the mind can in fact heal from psychological trauma much as the body recovers from physical trauma.  When you cut your hand, your body works to close the wound. If a foreign object or repeated injury irritates the wound, it festers and causes pain. Once the block is removed, healing resumes. EMDR therapy demonstrates that a similar sequence of events occurs with mental processes.  The brain’s information processing system naturally moves toward mental health.  If the system is blocked or imbalanced by the impact of a disturbing event, the emotional wound festers and can cause intense suffering. These “blocks” which are unprocessed memories and feelings, are stored in the limbic system of your brain in a "raw" and emotional form, rather than in a verbal “story” mode. This limbic system maintains traumatic memories in isolated memory networks that are associated with emotions and physical sensations, and are disconnected from the brain’s cortex where we use language to store memories. Once the block is removed, healing resumes. The detailed protocols in EMDR help create the connections between your brain’s memory networks, enabling your brain to process the traumatic memory in a very natural way.

 

What does an EMDR session look like?

    There are actually 8 phases to EMDR. The processing is done in phase 4, during this time; you will be asked specific questions about a particular disturbing memory. To activate the processing alternating bi-lateral stimulation is used. There are several options for how the alternating bilateral stimulation is performed.  At this practice there are two most commonly used methods. One, eye movements, similar to those during REM sleep, are recreated through by watching spheres move back and forth on a screen. More commonl, pulsers or tappers are used. You hold the pulsers in each had and they vibrate (think of a phone vibration) back and forth very quickly. The eye movements or pulsers will last for a short while and then stop. You will then be asked to report back on the experiences you have had during each of these sets. Experiences during a session may include changes in thoughts, images and feelings. With repeated sets, the memory tends to change in such a way that it loses its painful intensity and simply becomes a neutral memory of an event in the past. Other associated memories may also heal at the same time. This linking of related memories can lead to a dramatic and rapid improvement in many aspects of your life.

 

Is EMDR like hypnosis?

   During EMDR treatment, you will remain in control, fully alert and wide-awake. This is not a form of hypnosis and you can stop the process at any time. Throughout the session, the therapist will support and facilitate your own self-healing and intervene as little as possible. Reprocessing is usually experienced as something that happens spontaneously, and new connections and insights are felt to arise quite naturally from within. As a result, most people experience EMDR as being a natural and very empowering therapy.

 

Is EMDR just for PTSD?

   No, EMDR has been used to successfully treat: anxiety and panic attacks, depression, anger, phobias, grief and loss, performance anxiety, addiction, feelings of worthless/low self esteem

 

Video:

Please follow this link to watch a short YouTube video on EMDR. This video was produce by the EMDR international association (EMDRIA).

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