What is EMDR?

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing

EMDR is founded on the principle that each person has both an innate tendency to move towards health and wholeness, and the inner capacity to achieve self-healing

EMDR is a simple and well-researched approach to help people to recover from traumatic events.

Most people recover naturally from traumatic experiences. But for a variety of reasons the brain can sometimes find it difficult to process what has happened, with the result that feelings, thoughts, images and sensations can get ‘stuck’ in the system. The body continues to react as if the threat is still present – causing continued and sometimes long-term distress.

EMDR uses eye movements and hand-tapping for example, to bilaterally stimulate the brain to process traumatic memories. This enables the client to make sense of what has happened, to release painful thoughts and beliefs, and to make positive life changes.

EMDR is especially effective when treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, EMDR is also widely used as part of a treatment plan for other issues such as:

* depression * childhood trauma * physical abuse * sexual abuse * obsessive-compulsive disorders * complicated grief

* episodic rage * panic attacks * low self-esteem * relationship problems * performance anxiety * insomnia

The impact of trauma…
The word ‘trauma’ comes from the Greek word for wound. In therapeutic terms, this means harm done to a person’s psychological well-being by one or more events that causes high levels of distress.

Such events include:
Accidents, road, rail and aeroplane crashes, physical, sexual, emotional abuse, assault and bullying, domestic violence, bereavement, natural disasters, social deprivation, terrorism, murder, armed combat

Those at risk include:
Survivors, victims, rescuers/helpers, onlookers, those who could have been there but weren’t. vulnerable people who may be affected such as relatives, close friends and work colleagues

In some cases Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms may be evident. These symptoms often express as:
Flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance, emotional distancing, numbness, sense of no future, hypervigilance, panic attacks, poor concentrations, sleep disturbance, a change in character

EMDR is recognised by the NICE (The National Institute for Clinical Excellence) guidelines as one of the most effective treatments for traumatic stress and PTSD.