EYE MOVEMENT DESENSITIZATION AND REPROCESSING (EMDR)
What is EMDR Therapy?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an integrative psychotherapy approach that has been extensively researched and proven effective for the treatment of trauma. EMDR is a set of standardized protocols that incorporates elements from many different treatment approaches. As EMDR is a mental health intervention, it should only be offered by properly trained and licensed mental health clinicians.

What kind of problems can EMDR treat?
Scientific research has established EMDR as effective for post traumatic stress. However, results have proven to be effective and long lasting. It has also been successfully used to help clients with:
Addiction
Grief and Loss
Anxiety and panic attacks
Fears, Phobias, Phobias and fears (animals, heights, snakes etc)
Adult and Childhood Trauma
Sexual and Physical Abuse
Disturbing Memories
Depression
Stress Reduction
Anger management
Injuries (accidents, sports, dog bite etc)
Dissociative Disorders
Repeated medical interventions and Chronic Pain
Natural disasters (hurricane, fire, tornado, flood)
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Reactive Attachment Disorder
Eating Disorders
ADHD
Addictions (substance abuse, gambling, sex)
Sleep problems
Domestic Violence
Car accidents
Self-esteem and performance anxiety
How does EMDR work?
No one knows how any form of psychotherapy works neurobiologically or in the brain. However, we do know that when a person is very upset, their brain cannot process information as it does ordinarily. One moment becomes “frozen in time,” and remembering a trauma may feel as bad as going through it the first time because the images, sounds, smells, and feelings haven’t changed. Such memories have a lasting negative effect that interferes with the way a person sees the world and the way they relate to other people.
EMDR seems to have a direct effect on the way that the brain processes information. Normal information processing is resumed, so following a successful EMDR session, a person no longer relives the images, sounds, and feelings when the event is brought to mind. You still remember what happened, but it is less upsetting. Many types of therapy have similar goals. However, EMDR appears to be similar to what occurs naturally during dreaming or REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Therefore, EMDR can be thought of as a physiologically based therapy that helps a person see disturbing material in a new and less distressing way.
What is the actual EMDR session like?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is applicable for a wide range of psychological problems and diagnoses that result from overwhelming life experiences. EMDR integrates many of the successful elements of a range of therapeutic approaches, yet there are aspects of EMDR that are unique. In particular, the therapist leads a client in a series of lateral eye movements while the client simultaneously focuses on various aspects of a disturbing memory. The left – right eye movements in EMDR therapy are a form of “bilateral stimulation”. Other forms of bilateral stimulation used by EMDR therapists include alternating bilateral sound using headphones, a light bar/box, alternating tactile simulation using a handheld device that vibrates or taps to the back of the client’s hands, bilateral knee or shoulder tapping.
