EMDR
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) has been extensively researched, proving to be an effective treatment for trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It has also been shown to be helpful for a wide range of problems including:
How does EMDR Therapy work?
Our brains are both adaptive and resilient. They have developed a natural ability to heal from trauma, but when an event is too distressing (or too prolonged), it can overwhelm that process. When the information related to trauma isn’t fully processed, it gets stored in the brain as it was originally experienced. Complete with distorted thoughts, perceptions, and intense emotions.
The emotional intensity that this memory still holds means that the brain can’t update itself with new experiential information that would let the body know it is safe again. For example, you have a kind partner, but your brain may not be able to integrate this new information (partners can be kind and safe) and continue reacting as if they were a previous partner who was abusive.
EMDR Stimulates the Brain
EMDR therapy is used to stimulate your brain in such a way that the trauma memory can be finally, entirely processed. Our mental wiring can be updated with new experiences that help us learn that we are safe and whole. It turns down the volume of the trauma-related emotions. This allows you to make connections and realisations you couldn’t previously make.
When is EMDR Therapy most helpful?
EMDR is particularly helpful for those frustrating times when you know something is true but it doesn’t feel true. If you know logically that it’s okay for someone to be upset with you, you still may not feel that you’re safe in light of that. It might be a situation in which your current partner has never acted badly, but you still feel like you’re with someone who may explode on you at any moment.
Additionally, EMDR therapy is useful for very intelligent clients who have a hard time mentally getting out of their own way. Sometimes this elevated level of thinking gets in the way of the brain’s natural ability to heal.
The eye movement part of EMDR serves partially as a way to distract the thinking part of the brain, so the rest of it can do what it needs to do: feel and make connections and process.
EMDR is different because it does not require you to talk about your trauma in detail. Instead of focusing on consciously changing feelings, behaviours, and thoughts, EMDR simply helps your brain resume its natural healing process. To find out more about EMDR please refer to:
What is an EMDR session like?
After a thorough assessment and history taking, 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. 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 feelings.
With repeated sets of eye movements, 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.
Can anyone benefit from EMDR?
For some, EMDR can accelerate therapy by resolving the impact of past traumas and allowing you to live more fully in the present. It is not, however, appropriate for everyone. The process can be rapid, and any disturbing experiences, if they occur, 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 used as a brief focused treatment; however it is most successful when used as part of longer, in-depth psychotherapy.
What is best for you and your needs can be discussed during our initial session.
EMDR sessions tend to last for approx 90 minutes.
What evidence is there that EMDR is a successful treatment?
EMDR is an innovative clinical treatment which has successfully helped over a million 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: www.emdr-europe.org and www.emdr.org, and is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) as an effective treatment for PTSD.
- Anxiety
- Panic attacks
- Phobias
- Depression
- Grief and loss
- Substance abuse
- Other emotional distress
How does EMDR Therapy work?
Our brains are both adaptive and resilient. They have developed a natural ability to heal from trauma, but when an event is too distressing (or too prolonged), it can overwhelm that process. When the information related to trauma isn’t fully processed, it gets stored in the brain as it was originally experienced. Complete with distorted thoughts, perceptions, and intense emotions.
The emotional intensity that this memory still holds means that the brain can’t update itself with new experiential information that would let the body know it is safe again. For example, you have a kind partner, but your brain may not be able to integrate this new information (partners can be kind and safe) and continue reacting as if they were a previous partner who was abusive.
EMDR Stimulates the Brain
EMDR therapy is used to stimulate your brain in such a way that the trauma memory can be finally, entirely processed. Our mental wiring can be updated with new experiences that help us learn that we are safe and whole. It turns down the volume of the trauma-related emotions. This allows you to make connections and realisations you couldn’t previously make.
When is EMDR Therapy most helpful?
EMDR is particularly helpful for those frustrating times when you know something is true but it doesn’t feel true. If you know logically that it’s okay for someone to be upset with you, you still may not feel that you’re safe in light of that. It might be a situation in which your current partner has never acted badly, but you still feel like you’re with someone who may explode on you at any moment.
Additionally, EMDR therapy is useful for very intelligent clients who have a hard time mentally getting out of their own way. Sometimes this elevated level of thinking gets in the way of the brain’s natural ability to heal.
The eye movement part of EMDR serves partially as a way to distract the thinking part of the brain, so the rest of it can do what it needs to do: feel and make connections and process.
EMDR is different because it does not require you to talk about your trauma in detail. Instead of focusing on consciously changing feelings, behaviours, and thoughts, EMDR simply helps your brain resume its natural healing process. To find out more about EMDR please refer to:
What is an EMDR session like?
After a thorough assessment and history taking, 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. 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 feelings.
With repeated sets of eye movements, 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.
Can anyone benefit from EMDR?
For some, EMDR can accelerate therapy by resolving the impact of past traumas and allowing you to live more fully in the present. It is not, however, appropriate for everyone. The process can be rapid, and any disturbing experiences, if they occur, 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 used as a brief focused treatment; however it is most successful when used as part of longer, in-depth psychotherapy.
What is best for you and your needs can be discussed during our initial session.
EMDR sessions tend to last for approx 90 minutes.
What evidence is there that EMDR is a successful treatment?
EMDR is an innovative clinical treatment which has successfully helped over a million 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: www.emdr-europe.org and www.emdr.org, and is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) as an effective treatment for PTSD.