Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is an evidence-based psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that result from disturbing life experiences. Repeated studies have shown that by using EMDR therapy people can experience the benefits of psychotherapy that once took years to make a difference. It is assumed that severe emotional pain requires a long time to heal. EMDR therapy shows that the mind can, in fact, heal from psychological trauma much as the body recovers from physical trauma.

EMDR therapy is recognized worldwide as an effective form of treatment for trauma and other disturbing experiences by organizations such as the American Psychiatric Association and the World Health Organization (WHO). While EMDR therapy is used primarily to treat symptoms of trauma, EMDR is also effective in treating the “everyday” memories that are the reason people have low self-esteem, feelings of powerlessness, and all the myriad problems that bring someone in for therapy.

EMDR therapy is a treatment consisting of 8 distinct phases. Eye movements (or other bilateral stimulation) are used in the first four phases. After the clinician has determined which memory to target first, he or she asks the client to hold different aspects of that event or thought in mind and to use his eyes to track the therapist’s hand as it moves back and forth across the client’s field of vision. As this happens, for reasons believed to be connected with the biological mechanisms involved in Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, internal associations arise and the clients begin to process the memory and disturbing feelings. In successful EMDR therapy, the meaning of painful events is transformed on an emotional level.

To schedule your appointment, call the Medical Clinic at (712) 722-2609.