EMDR therapy
About the EMDR therapy
It is a process in which the therapist works with the client to identify a specific problem that will be the focus of the treatment. It helps the client reconnect in a safe and measured way with the images, emotions, thoughts and body sensations associated to the traumatic event or problem. The treatment process allows for natural healing and adaptive resolution. The therapist invites the client to carry out eye movements (or any other bilateral stimulation) while other parts of the traumatic memory or other associated memories come to mind. The therapist interrupts eye movements every so often in order to make sure that the client is processing properly.
EMDR stands for Eye Movement, Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is indicated for every person who suffers from emotional distress, usually linked to psychological trauma, such as physical and psychological violence, sexual abuse, child abuse, accidents, the loss of loved ones, serious illnesses, fires, natural disasters, war situations and terrorists’ attacks.
It is also recommended in the treatment of emotional difficulties caused by difficult life experiences, such as phobias, panic attacks, separations, grief, miscarriages, and professional challenges.
EMDR is a therapeutic approach developed by Francine Shapiro since the 1980s. It is about conducting preliminary interviews that allow the client to establish a relationship of trust with the therapist and identify with her help, the traumatic memory or memories that are the source of the client’s difficulties.
These memories are reprocessed, one by one, over several sessions, sometimes requiring several sessions to reprocess a single memory.
The treatment process is conscious and corresponds to what the brain does naturally when the processing system is not blocked. The series of bilateral stimulations (which can be visual, auditory or kinesthetic, that is to say that the therapist strokes the hands or shoulders of the client from one side to the other) remove the block and desensitize those memories so that they are no longer a source of distress. Instead, those memories become associated with feelings of calm, as well as positive and constructive thinking.
The healing process means a reduction in symptoms, a change in beliefs and the possibility of improved functioning in everyday life.