Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing or EMDR

I am currently in training and can provide Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing or EMDR. I am able to conduct EMDR while under consultation while in training.

What is EMDR?

EMDR stands for “Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing” and is a way to re- work the way stuck memories are stored by the brain. EMDR therapy is a cost-effective, non-invasive, evidence-based method of psychotherapy that facilitates adaptive information processing. It is a well-researched and highly developed way to work with people who have experienced disturbing events in their lives and for whom the bad feelings, images and memories don’t just go away.

How does EMDR work?

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 one or more successful EMDR sessions, 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.

Read more about the process of EMDR at the EMDRIA webiste.