Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a powerful psychological treatment that has been used effectively for over 30 years in a variety of international settings and cultures with many different types of psychological distress. 

Often disturbing events happen in our lives that stay with us. The brain cannot process information as it ordinarily does. One moment can become ‘frozen in time’ and remembering the trauma may feel as bad as going through it for the first time. This is because the images, sounds, smells and feelings still seem to be there – they haven’t changed. Such memories have a lasting negative effect that interferes with the way a person sees the world and the way that they relate to other people.

EMDR has a positive effect on how the brain processes information, forcing it to ‘store away’ the traumatic memory. Following an EMDR session, the client often no longer relives the trauma. They still recall that an incident happened, but it no longer feels upsetting. Clients can also experience a decrease or cessation in flashbacks, nightmares and/or intrusive memories. EMDR reprocessing also helps to alter the unhelpful beliefs clients often hold about themselves, other people and/or the world due to their previous experiences, and shift towards more adaptive, helpful and realistic beliefs. 

EMDR is aimed at helping trauma of all shapes, sizes and impacts. It can be any event that has been disturbing to you in your childhood, adolescence or adulthood. It has been shown to be affective with anxiety, grief, addictions, phobias and depression to name a few. It can also focus on present future and future concerns as well as the past. 

Some of the advantages of EMDR over other treatment approaches include:

• Clients do not have to ‘relive’ and talk through all the details of their traumatic memories. 

• Better tolerated by clients than exposure therapy

• EMDR has comparable results to that of other trauma treatments such as exposure therapy, but over a much shorter timeframe

• Studies have shown that 77-90% of clients with PTSD were able to eliminate their symptoms after 3-7 sessions of EMDR (without homework)

(Source: http://emdraa.org/emdr-faq)

EMDR is also recognised as an approved therapeutic approach for use with a Mental Health Care Plan. 

If you are interested in EMDR, want to find out more and/or see if it's suitable for you, please arrange an appointment today