EMDR Therapy
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences.
Just as our bodies develop scar tissue to heal from wounds and physical trauma, EMDR shows that the mind can also create new pathways to recover from psychological trauma.
The brain’s information processing system naturally moves toward mental health. If the system is blocked or imbalanced by the impact of a disturbing event, the emotional wound festers and can cause intense suffering. Once the block is removed, healing resumes. Using the detailed protocols and procedures learned in EMDR therapy training sessions, clinicians help clients activate their natural healing processes.
EMDR therapy involves attention to three time periods: the past, present, and future. Focus is given to past disturbing memories and related events. Also, it is given to current situations that cause distress, and to developing the skills and attitudes needed for positive future actions. With EMDR therapy, these items are addressed using an eight-phase treatment approach.
8 Phases of EMDR Therapy
PHASE 1: Detailed history-taking session and customized treatment development plan.
PHASE 2: Learning personalized stress-reduction techniques to maintain equilibrium between sessions.
PHASES 3-6: A specific target is identified involving a vivid memory, negative self-belief and related emotions or body sensations. Desensitization may include eye movements, taps, or tones. The type and length of these sets is different for each client.
PHASE 7: In phase seven, closure, the therapist asks the client to keep a log during the week. The log should document any related material that may arise. It serves to remind the client of the self-calming activities that were mastered in phase two.
PHASE 8: The next session begins with examining the progress made thus far. The EMDR treatment processes all related historical events, current incidents that elicit distress, and future events that will require different responses.
Francine Shapiro, Ph.D., is the originator and developer of EMDR, which has been so well researched that it is now recommended as an effective treatment for trauma in the Practice Guidelines of the American Psychiatric Association, and those of the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.