EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) Therapy was created in 1987 by Francine Shapiro

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Uses of EMDR

Primarily created as a psychological therapy for processing traumatic events, EMDR can be used for:

• Single Incident traumas - such as a car crash

• Complex traumas 

• PTSD

• Anxiety 

• Phobias

• Depression

How EMDR works

Francine, struggling with cancer and, feeling upset, had gone for a walk in the park to take time for herself.  She noticed that as she was thinking her eyes were making rapid movements left and right (like REM sleep) and that after her walk, if she thought about the cancer, she felt much less disturbed, much better.  She set about seeing if she could replicate this effect and through years of research EMDR therapy was created.  ​

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Francine Shapiro discovered that if you:

1. Take a memory that is causing you disturbance still in the present day, so for example the memory of a distressing accident, dentist visit, or maybe a moment at work where you felt humiliated.

2. Focus on that memory and allow free-association within your mind to occur with no judgement and without trying to change anything, whilst following the therapists fingers to make sets of rapid eye movements. 

3. The research shows that this allows the memory to process properly to a place of no longer being disturbing.  Like when you think back to the memory of having made a tea or coffee for yourself this morning, it causes no distressing emotional reaction.

 

Why EMDR works

This is still a question that researchers are looking into.  There is still much we do not understand about the brain.  However brain scans (Dr Daniel Amen) show over-activity from PTSD before EMDR and a marked decrease in activity after EMDR. Brain scans have also shown EMDR causes a decrease in activation in brain areas involved in emotional processing and distress, with a shift to maximal activation in cognitive brain regions.

 

The specific mechanisms that work are thought to be a combination of several factors but the bi-lateral stimulation (the eye movements) are thought to help activate the brain's natural memory processing mechanisms - much like REM sleep.

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What's it like to have EMDR therapy?

It's a bit weird.  I've had it myself.  For it be be effective you need to be open to the free-association aspect and, just let you mind throw up images, sounds, thoughts, or body sensations as you process the memory, without judging or blocking what comes up for you.  If the memory is very disturbing then you will feel disturbed through the process but the therapist is right alongside you and you will have already discussed this, you will be breathing deeply between sets of eye movements to keep your body regulated.

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What are the benefits of EMDR?

Our minds and bodies work together to help keep us out of danger, or distressing situations.  If we have experienced danger and distressing situations, then the memories of these incidents, unless resolved can and do get activated when we move into new situations in the present day that are similar.

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So, this can range from someone with PTSD experiencing flashbacks because a particular smell, sight, or sound has activated the unprocessed traumatic memory.  Through to feeling ourselves panic and freeze in certain situations, for example in meetings at work because we have several memories from childhood of being bullied by our classmates (read colleagues).

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With EMDR you find a 'target memory' with your therapist related to the present day problem you are experiencing and you work through the memory to resolution*, which clears the disturbance, so for the examples above, it either stops the flashbacks, or will stop the panic in the meeting, which allows you to be able to think clearly about what you would like to say, rather than remaining frozen and quiet.

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*The complexity of the original incident, and how many memories may be networked together, will determine how many sessions of EMDR are needed.

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If you would like to know more about EMDR, or would like to book a 30 minute phone consultation with me please feel free to email me hello@katherinecrook.com

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