EMDR therapy is an 8-phase treatment modality that systematically allows clients to process traumatic material and resolve persistent emotional, mental and somatic distress. What Brings Us Back to EMDR Therapy. Yes, it is possible to heal from a history of complex trauma. Doing so requires only a conscious, methodical and gradual approach to treatment.
If you are considering EMDR and have a history of complex trauma, I strongly recommend that you make sure that your therapist has experience working with both. Also make sure your therapist talks to you about extensive preparation and stabilization; these will be a necessary part of your healing journey. One area of this growth is treating anxiety and anxiety-related problems, such as panic attacks or phobias.While many treatments for anxiety help deal with anxiety symptoms, EMDR therapy can help you address the root cause of your anxiety or fear. Knowing what I know now, I think it's imperative that all training for psychologists and mental health therapists include EMDR.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) refers to an interactive psychotherapy technique used to relieve psychological stress. EMDR therapy is a multi-component approach that works with image lines, cognition, affect, somatic sensation and related memories. EMDR can be particularly useful when treatments, such as psychotherapy and medications, are not effective or cause unwanted side effects. Similarly, there have been reports of elimination of phantom limb pain after EMDR treatment of etiological memory and pain sensations (Vanderlaan, 2000; Wilensky, 2000; S.
Researchers concluded that early EMDR interventions significantly reduced symptoms of traumatic stress and prevented symptoms from worsening. In contrast, EMDR attempts are made to ground the patient repeatedly by referring to current feelings and bodily sensations to prevent the patient from moving away from reality. In a nutshell, an EMDR therapist does this by guiding you through a series of bilateral (side to side) eye movements as you recall traumatic or triggering experiences in small segments, until those memories no longer cause distress. Shapiro and Forrest (199) and Nicosia (199) have also observed additional differences between hypnosis and EMDR.
In addition, doctors' reports over the past 25 years have indicated that EMDR therapy can be extremely effective when there are factors contributing to the experience that need to be addressed. EMDR, on the other hand, interrupts internal attention repeatedly to ask “What do you get now? (Exposure therapy is structured to inhibit avoidance (Lyons% 26 Keane, 198) and specifically prohibits the patient from reducing “their anxiety by changing the scene or quickly overtaking it in time to get over the most traumatic point (p. The results indicate the effectiveness of EMDR when effect sizes are based on comparisons between EMDR and control groups without treatment or treatment of unestablished trauma, and incremental efficacy when effect sizes are based on comparisons between EMDR and established trauma treatment (CBT). If you are considering EMDR therapy, you will want to consider whether you are ready to do the work required of this type of psychological treatment.
While the exact mechanisms behind EMDR remain the subject of debate, several national and international organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Psychiatric Association (APA), recognize that this therapy is an effective treatment. .
