EMDR

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

What is EMDR?

EMDR, which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, came into being in 1989, when a psychologist named Francine Shapiro was walking in the park one day. She noticed that the disturbing thing she was thinking about went away after her eyes moved back and forth spontaneously. This was the seed for developing a specific method to process traumatic memories and dysfunctional beliefs about one's self.

With EMDR therapy, the client is asked to hold the image of a specific memory, the negative belief about one's self, the accompanying emotions and body sensations, while focusing on a light moving back and forth, or the therapist's finger. This facilitates information processing between the right and left brain hemispheres, or something similar to what happens in REM sleep when we dream. Other forms of bilateral stimulation may be used, such as alternating tones, or alternating tactile sensations from tapping, or a device held in the hands.

As the client proceeds in the process, many things can happen. They may experience parts of the memory more vividly, and new insights may occur. They may see the incident from a different perspective, connect to feelings they were not able to experience before, or feel various sensations in their body. Often, after this kind of processing has occurred, there is a reduction of distress, and openness to new beliefs about one's self that are more positive and adaptive. Behavioral shifts may then occur naturally.

To date, there have been more controlled studies of EMDR than any other type of treatment for trauma. The International Society for Traumatic Stress and the American Psychological Association have accepted EMDR as an effective treatment for Post Traumatic Stress. Over 30,000 clinicians worldwide have now been trained in EMDR. See www.emdr.com for more information