EMDR
EMDR
What Is EMDR Therapy?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based therapy that helps people heal from distressing life experiences and the symptoms that can result from them. While EMDR is best known for treating trauma and PTSD, it can also be effective for anxiety, depression, grief, phobias, negative self-beliefs and addictions.
When difficult experiences are not fully processed, they can continue to affect how we think, feel, and respond to situations in the present. EMDR helps the brain reprocess these experiences so they are no longer as emotionally overwhelming. During EMDR sessions, clients focus briefly on a memory while engaging in bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements, tapping, or alternating sounds. This process helps the brain integrate the memory in a healthier, more adaptive way.
EMDR is one of the most researched trauma treatments available and is recognized by organizations such as the American Psychological Association (APA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) as an effective treatment for trauma-related concerns.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What has research determined about the eye movement component of EMDR therapy?
In 1989, Francine Shapiro (1995) noticed that the emotional distress accompanying disturbing thoughts disappeared as her eyes moved spontaneously and rapidly. She began experimenting with this effect and determined that when others moved their eyes, their distressing emotions also dissipated. She conducted a case study (1989b) and controlled study (1989a), and her hypothesis that eye movements (EMs) were related to desensitization of traumatic memories was supported. The role of eye movement had been previously documented in connection to cognitive processing mechanisms. A series of systematic experiments (Antrobus, 1973; Antrobus, Antrobus, & Singer, 1964) revealed that spontaneous EMs were associated with unpleasant emotions and cognitive changes.
There have been more than two dozen published randomized studies that investigated the role of EMs in EMDR therapy. Studies have typically compared EMDR-with-EMs to a control condition in which the EM component was modified (e.g., EMDR-with-eyes-focused-and-unmoving). There have been four different types of studies: (1) case studies, (2) dismantling studies using clinical participants (3) dismantling studies using nonclinical analogue participants, and (4) component action studies in which eye movements are examined in isolation.
Will I live the trauma as intensely as before?
Many people are conscious of only a shadow of the experience, while others feel it to a greater degree. Unlike some other therapies, EMDR therapy clients are not asked to relive the trauma intensely and for prolonged periods of time. In EMDR therapy, when there is a high level of intensity it only lasts for a few moments and then decreases rapidly. If it does not decrease rapidly on its own, the clinician has been trained in techniques to assist it to dissipate. The client has also been trained in techniques to immediately relieve the distress.