EMDR

WHAT IS EMDR?

EMDR is an acronym for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is a therapeutic technique that serves as an adjunct to psychotherapy. It is not psychotherapy or hypnosis. It is a process that assists the client’s neurological system to process stored information at an accelerated rate. EMDR is used in addition to psychotherapeutic procedures as may be appropriate for the client’s specific situation.

Often, when something traumatic occurs in a person’s life, it seems to get “locked” in the nervous system as a bundle of memory components that includes the pictorial images, sounds, thoughts, and emotions connected with the event. Since the experience is locked there, it continues to be triggered whenever a reminder, or “triggering” event, occurs in the client’s daily life. This locked-in memory can therefore be the basis for a lot of emotional and/or physical discomfort. Negative emotions often experienced include fear and helplessness that seem to be beyond the person’s control. They are actually the emotions connected with the old experience that are being triggered by certain events in the present life experiences.

In EMDR therapy, specific patterns of eye movements are guided by the therapist, which unlock the nervous system and allow the brain to process the experience. This, it is believed, is what happens during REM, or dream, sleep – the rapid eye movements may help to process the unconscious material retained in the brain. It is important to note that it is the client’s own brain doing the healing in EMDR therapy, and unlike the state of REM sleep, the EMDR client is in control of the process, while the therapist acts as a guide. Locked-in, disturbing memories can be stored in isolated memory networks of the brain. This prevents learning from taking place regarding the original event. In another part of the brain, in a separate network, is most of the information that is needed to resolve the isolated, memory material. So, the old material just keeps getting triggered over and over again. Once EMDR processing begins, the two networks are allowed to link together. New information can then come into consciousness and resolve the old problems.

(Taken from EMDR brochure)

For more information on EMDR, you can access this site: http://www.emdr.com/