Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)

What is EDMR?

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychological therapy for trauma and some other mental health problems. It was developed just over 20 years ago by a clinical psychologist in the United States, Francine Shapiro.

What is it used for?

At first, the therapy was used just to treat traumatic memories (raw and intrusive thoughts, feelings, pictures, sounds, smells, tastes, and body sensations), which might develop as a result of:

an assault
a road traffic accident
a natural disaster like a flood or fire or very severe storm
a ‘not straightforward’ surgical operation
neglect or bullying in childhood
admission to hospital with sudden mental illness
experiences associated with war or with being a refugee

These days, EMDR may also be used to treat feelings of grief or bereavement, phobias, anxieties of various sorts and pain. However, its most familiar use is still the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

What does EMDR involve?

The unusual feature of EMDR is the way in which the therapist seeks to target the sources of your distress by stimulating the two sides of your brain (its left and right hemispheres).

Usually, this is done by eye movements.

You watch the therapist passing his or her hand fairly rapidly backwards and forwards across your field of vision.

At the same time, you recall the difficult events from the past and the therapist helps you work through those events and feelings

At all times you remain conscious. A lot of importance is attached to giving you a sense of being in control of what happens in the work.

How does EMDR work?

When people are involved in a distressing event, they may find themselves overwhelmed by it.

Their minds are unable to process what has occurred in the way this normally happens with an event becoming more distant and taking its place in memory.

Instead, what happened to them becomes frozen and is sometimes intensely and repeatedly re- lived, as if it were happening right now and not a while ago.

The alternating left-right stimulation of the brain with eye movements seems to unblock the system.

The distressing events become less intense, less immediate and more like ordinary memories.

What happens first?

The therapist will carry out an assessment to work out whether EMDR is suitable for the problems you have described.

You will be asked about your difficulties, whether you have physical problems, if you are taking medication and what support
you have.

The therapist will spend some time doing preparatory exercises with you, so you can rapidly deal with any emotional disturbance that may arise during or after a session. These exercises may include breathing retraining or deep muscle relaxation.

Time is taken to explain the therapy and to address any concerns you may have.

Length of treatment

With the simpler traumas and distressing events of adult life, EMDR can have rapid
positive effects.

The average treatment times are from
three to five sessions.

With more complex traumas, which have stayed with us for longer, or which happened when you were young,
EMDR is more likely to be part of a much bigger piece of work; one which may stretch over a number of months.