What is EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing Therapy
When we are injured physically, our body knows how to heal itself and the mind is very similar. Much of this natural coping mechanism occurs during sleep, particularly during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Francine Shapiro developed Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) in 1987, utilising this natural process in order to successfully treat Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Since then, EMDR has been used to effectively treat a wide range of mental health problems.
What happens when you are traumatised?
Your body routinely manages new information and experiences without you being aware of it. However, when something out of the ordinary occurs and you are traumatised by an overwhelming event (e.g. a car accident) or by being repeatedly subjected to distress (e.g. childhood abuse), your natural coping mechanism can become overwhelmed. This overloading can result in distressing memories being stuck at the forefront of our brain or being "unprocessed".
Your ability to live in the present and not be disturbed from flashbacks and triggers of the event can be inhibited. EMDR helps create the connections between your brain’s memory networks, enabling your brain to process the traumatic memory in a very natural way.
What is an EMDR session like?
EMDR utilises the natural healing ability of your body using something called bilateral stimulation. After a thorough assessment, history taking and identification of distressing memories that you would like to work on, eye movements, similar to those during REM sleep, will be recreated.
The eye movements will last for a short amount of sets with regular intervals for feedback on what you are noticing. If bilateral stimulation via eye movements isn't suitable, there are alternative methods that we can use such as body tapping.
What can EMDR be used for?
In addition to its use for the treatment of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, EMDR has been successfully used to treat:
- anxiety and panic attacks, depression, stress, phobias, sleep problems, complicated grief, addictions, pain relief, low self-esteem and confidence, negative limiting self-beliefs
Can anyone benefit from EMDR?
It is not appropriate for everyone. The process is rapid, and any disturbing experiences, if they occur at all, last for a comparatively short period of time. Nevertheless, you need to be aware of, and willing to experience, the strong feelings and disturbing thoughts, which sometimes occur during sessions.
How long does treatment take? EMDR can be brief focused treatment or be integrated into our existing psychotherapy sessions. EMDR sessions can be for 60 to 90 minutes and can be more frequent if needed, for example two sessions a week.
Will I will remain in control and empowered? During EMDR treatment, you will remain in control and can stop the process at any time. This is not a form of hypnosis.
What evidence is there that EMDR is a successful treatment? The validity and reliability of EMDR has been established by rigorous research. There are now nineteen controlled studies into EMDR making it the most thoroughly researched method used in the treatment of trauma, (Details on www.emdr-europe.org and www.emdr.org) and is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) as an effective treatment for PTSD. Adapted from www.traumacentre.com
Cost of sessions
- £80 - 1 hour EMDR session
- £110 - 90 minute EMDR session
- Discount available for block bookings
- Concessions slots available
©Copyright. All rights reserved.
We need your consent to load the translations
We use a third-party service to translate the website content that may collect data about your activity. Please review the details in the privacy policy and accept the service to view the translations.