Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a powerful therapy designed to help people recover from traumatic events in their lives.
What is EMDR?
EMDR is recognised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
and the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Watch the informative video below (click the image to view)
When a person is involved in a traumatic event, they may feel overwhelmed and their brain may be unable to fully process what is going on. The memory of the event seems to become “stuck” so that it remains very intense and vivid, and can feel as if it is happening in the ‘here and now’.
EMDR aims to help the brain “unstick” and reprocess the disturbing memory so that it is no longer as intense. It also helps to desensitise the person to the emotional impact of the memory, so that it is possible to recall the event without becoming overwhelmed. EMDR involves the processing of emotional information around a painful memory, whilst simultaneously performing bilateral movement or undergoing bilateral stimulation.
Put simply, bilateral stimulation/ movement involves moving your eyes from side-to-side (following the therapist’s fingers, or a light bar), or hearing a sound in each ear alternately, or holding a pulser in each hand which deliver gentle vibrations to each hand.
Some research suggests that EMDR is effective because concentrating on another task whilst processing a distressing memory gives the brain more work to do. When the brain is not giving its full attention to processing the memory, it starts to become less vivid. This allows the person to distance themselves from it and begin to remember the event in a more helpful and manageable way.
What is an EMDR session like?
EMDR therapy involves attention to three time periods: the past, the present, and the future. You will have an initial assessment session before commencing the EMDR processing. This will involve taking a brief personal history, assessing if EMDR is right for you, what supports and resources you have, and identifying the target memory (or memories) for processing, along with the negative thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and the amount of distress you feel when you recall the event. In addition, you will be asked to identify a positive belief that you would prefer to have. The therapist will introduce you to the EMDR procedures by using them to help you create a ‘safe place’ of your choice, that you can use to generate a feeling of calm and safety.
Once you and your therapist feel that you are sufficiently prepared, you will be asked to choose an image that represents the distressing event.
To process the target memory, the therapist will ask you to recall the disturbing event, along with the emotions and physical sensations that go along with it, whilst at the same time moving your eyes from side-to-side (following their fingers, or a light bar), or hearing a sound in each ear alternately. These side-to-side sensations (bilateral stimulation) seem to effectively stimulate the “stuck” processing system in the brain so that it can reprocess the information more like an ordinary memory, reducing its intensity. After each set of eye movements, your therapist will ask you what you became aware of or what you noticed. There are no right or wrong answers, you just report whatever you are experiencing as you let you brain and body process the memory.
Once the memory has been processed and you report no distress related to the targeted memory (memories), you will be asked to think of the preferred positive belief that you identified at the beginning of treatment, whether it still ‘fits’ or you would like to change it. Bilateral stimulation will then be used to strengthen this positive belief about yourself. You will then be supported to imagine future scenarios, and how you would like to respond to them
Is EMDR a form of hypnotism?
EMDR is not a form of hypnotism. Even though you are moving your eyes during EMDR you will remain conscious, awake and in control at all times. EMDR therapy cannot be done against your will.
How effective is EMDR?
When a person’s mental health problems have their roots in a distressing life event, EMDR can be very effective very quickly. Studies have shown that EMDR can significantly decrease PTSD symptoms in just two or three sessions, and that the effect is long lasting (e.g. Ironson, Freund, Strauss, & Williams, 2002; Scheck, Schaeffer, & Gillette, 1998). People who have experienced several traumatic events, neglect or poor treatment as children usually need more sessions than this.
EMDR is a complex therapeutic process that should always be delivered by properly trained therapists.