EMDR Therapy is a powerful method of psychotherapy, which to date, has helped an estimated two million people of all ages relieve many types of psychological distress.
It is an effective treatment for a wide variety of life concerns including:
- Trauma, Including Both Post - Traumatic and Acute Stress Disorder
- Upsetting Childhood Events which have caused low self - esteem or confidence problems
- Anxiety/Phobias/OCD
- Grief/Loss
- Depression
- Addictive Behaviors
- Performance Anxiety
- Stress Reduction
How Does EMDR Therapy Work?
No one knows exactly how any form of psychotherapy works neurobiologically or in the brain. However, we do know that when a person is very upset, his/her 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 relates to other people.
EMDR Therapy seems to have a direct effect on the way that the brain processes information. Normal information processing is resumed, so following a successful EMDR therapy 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 therapy appears to be similar to what occurs naturally during dreaming or REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Therefore, it can be thought of as a physiologicaly based therapy that helps a person see disturbing material in a new and less distressing way.
Research
EMDR Therapy is one of the most researched psychotherapeutic techniques in history. Over 20 controlled studies have been done and have consistently found that EMDR therapy effectively decreases/eliminates the symptoms of post traumatic stress for the majority of clients. It has been designated as an effective treatment for post traumatic stress by the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense, the United Kingdom Department of Health, the Israeli National Council for Mental Health, and many other international health and governmental agencies. A complete list may be found through the EMDR International Asssociation's web site, emdria.org or The EMDR Institute, emdr.com