EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing
EMDR is a type of psychotherapy developed by Francine Shapiro in 1990 which uses eye movements or other methods of bilateral stimulation of the body to help process traumatic memories and associated symptoms. It is commonly used for Trauma and PTSD although it is also being used successfully for other disorders such as anxiety, phobias and depression.
The theory behind EMDR is that when a traumatic event happens, the memory of this event is stored in part of the brain with the original images, sounds, thoughts and feelings. This old distressing memory keeps getting triggered repeatedly. This prevents learning and healing to take place. These are unprocessed trauma memories. In another part of your brain you have the information you need to heal and make sense of this memory. EMDR helps link these parts of the brain. New information can come to mind and help resolve old problems. This also happens in REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep or dream sleep when eye movements help process unconscious information. EMDR is an evidence-based therapy for Trauma and PTSD, recommended in the NHS by NICE.
A simple example of this:
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Usually, I love walking in the park with my dog. It used to be one of my favourite things to do. Then one day while I’m walking, I get pushed over and someone steals my purse. Now whenever I even think about walking in the park, I feel incredibly anxious and fearful. No matter what I tell myself, I can’t stop feeling like something terrible will happen. I can’t stop this because my brain has made the association between walking in the park and the attack. There is another part of my brain that knows walking is unlikely to be dangerous but it can’t connect with the part of my brain that feels afraid. EMDR will help make this link and explore all my feelings, thoughts and images I have associated with this attack. Eventually this attack will still be a bad memory but without all the associated anxiety and fear, and I’ll be able to walk my dog again without fear.
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During EMDR you’ll be asked to recall a distressing memory while receiving bilateral stimulation either with lateral eye movement, sounds or hand tapping. The memory is chosen carefully so it’s not too distressing. This will last for approximately 10-20 seconds and then you’ll be asked what you notice happening regarding your feelings, thoughts, images or physical sensations. The therapy will continue this way until you fully process the memory and new information comes to light. This may sound strange to start with, but clients find it very effective once they get used to it. The distress and intensity associated with the memory usually changes and improves quite quickly.
Length of treatment will depend on the condition being treated. If it’s a one-time trauma then treatment may be a short as 4-5 sessions. For more complex issues it will last longer. Once an assessment is done, you will be advised how long therapy may need to be.
As with all trauma therapy there is an assessment period during which the trauma and any significant past history is assessed. Then stabilisation methods are used to help you manage heightened emotions and body arousal. Only once you are able to use these effectively will the bilateral stimulation using eye movements or tapping start. In this way EMDR is done in a safe, measured way so you are not re-traumatised.