What is EMDR therapy?

The mind can often heal itself naturally, in the same way as the body does. Much of this  natural coping mechanism occurs during sleep, particularly during rapid eye movement  (REM) sleep. Francine Shapiro developed Eye Movement Desensitisation and  Reprocessing (EMDR) in 1987, utilising this natural process in order to successfully treat  Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Since then, EMDR has been used to effectively  treat a wide range of mental health problems. 

What happens when you are traumatised? 

Most of the time your body routinely manages new  information and experiences without you being aware of it.   However, when something out of the ordinary occurs and you  are traumatised by an overwhelming event (e.g. a car accident) or by being repeatedly subjected to distress (e.g.  childhood neglect), your natural coping mechanism can become overloaded. This overloading can result in disturbing experiences remaining frozen in your brain or being  "unprocessed". Such 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 an isolated  memory network that is associated with emotions and physical sensations, and which are disconnected from the  brain’s cortex where we use language to store memories. The limbic system’s traumatic  memories can be continually triggered when you experience events similar to the difficult  experiences you have been through. Often the memory itself is long forgotten, but the  painful feelings such as anxiety, panic, anger or despair are continually triggered in the  present. Your ability to live in the present and learn from new experiences can therefore  become inhibited. EMDR helps create the connections between your brain’s memory  networks, enabling your brain to process the traumatic memory in a very natural way. 

What is an EMDR session like? 

EMDR utilises the natural healing ability of your body. After a thorough assessment, you  will be asked specific questions about a particular disturbing memory. Eye movements,  similar to those during REM sleep, will be recreated simply by asking you to watch the  therapist's finger moving backwards and forwards across your visual field. Sometimes, a  bar of moving lights or headphones is used instead. If this is uncomfortable, other bilateral stimulation can be used, such as alternative leg tapping or even throwing a ball from one hand to the other, depending on what works for the individual. The eye movements 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 of eye movements. Experiences during a session may  include changes in thoughts, images and physical sensations or emotions. 

With repeated sets of eye movements (or bilateral stimulations), 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. 

What can EMDR be used for? 

In addition to its use for the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, EMDR has been  successfully used to treat:  

  • anxiety and panic attacks  

  • depression  

  • stress  

  • phobias  

  • sleep problems  

  • complicated grief  

  • addictions  

  • pain relief, phantom limb pain  

  • self-esteem and performance anxiety  

Can anyone benefit from EMDR?

EMDR can accelerate therapy by resolving the impact of your past traumas and allowing  you to live more fully in the present. It is not, however, appropriate for everyone. The  process is rapid, and any disturbing experiences, if they occur at all, last for a  comparatively short period of time. Nevertheless, you need to be aware of, and willing to  experience, the strong feelings and disturbing thoughts, which sometimes occur during  sessions. 

How long does treatment take? 

EMDR can be brief focused treatment or part of a longer psychotherapy programme.  EMDR sessions can last any length of time. I offer anything from 80 minute weekly sessions weekly, or 3 hour sessions twice a week, depending on the need.

Will I will remain in control and empowered? 

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. 

What evidence is there that EMDR is a successful treatment? 

EMDR is an innovative clinical treatment which has successfully helped millions of individuals. The validity and reliability of EMDR has been established by rigorous research.  There are now nineteen controlled studies into EMDR making it the most thoroughly  researched method used in the treatment of trauma, (Details on www.emdr-europe.org/ and https://www.emdr.com/) and is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical  Excellence (NICE) as an effective treatment for PTSD.