Don’t wait months or years to seek therapy for trauma.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)* is a comprehensive psychotherapy approach. It has been extensively researched and is an evidence-based modality proven effective for the treatment of trauma. EMDR addresses the physiological storage of a traumatic memory and how it informs daily experience. Often, unprocessed traumatic events can have significant impact on day-to-day functioning. The goal of EMDR therapy is to leave you with the emotions, understanding, and perspectives that will lead to healthy, useful behaviors and interactions. Don’t wait months or years to seek therapy for trauma. Research indicates the sooner therapy is sought, the sooner the client returns to normal functioning.
EMDR therapy was created by Dr. Francine Shapiro. In 1987, she observed that eye movement can lower the intensity of upsetting thoughts. The eye movement in EMDR has been compared to what happens when we dream, or experience REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. The client will focus on a traumatic memory while also focusing on eye movement or another form of bilateral sensory stimulation. During EMDR, the traumatic event is processed in a multi-layered approach.
EMDR has been used to help over 2 million people worldwide in the treatment of:
- Trauma & PTSD (physical abuse, sexual abuse, childhood trauma…)
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Phobias
- Grief
- Low self-esteem
- Performance anxiety
Check out the interview with Dr. Francine Shapiro, as she explains why and how EMDR works.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lsQbzfW9txc&time_continue=5&feature=emb_title
Positive results have been found for EMDR in several research studies. A few of these studies include the treatment with war veterans suffering from PTSD (Carlson, Chemtob, Rusnak, & Hedlund, 1996), anxiety disorders (Nadler, 1996; Doctor, 1994), crime victims (Shapiro & Solomon, 1995), and childhood PTSD (Greenwald).
For more detailed research findings, please visit: https://www.emdr.com/what-is-emdr/
*The above information is used with permission from the EMDR Institute.