Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)

EMDR is a powerful therapeutic process that can help people recover from trauma and other painful past experiences. It is an approach that is recognised as being extensively researched and has been proven highly effective for the treatment of trauma.

When a traumatic event occurs, the images, thoughts, feelings, and body sensations remain and can be easily triggered. This can create a sense of being back in the moment of when the trauma took place which can create feelings of distress and overwhelm.

 Using bilateral stimulation, EMDR therapy can help a person to process their memories which allows for normal healing to occur.

Why Choose EMDR therapy?

  • EMDR therapy is as effective as other trauma treatments but has a shorter timeframe

  • Research shows that 77% - 90% of people with PTSD were able to eliminate their symptoms after 3-7 sessions of EMDR

  • No homework is required

  • People do not have to talk about their trauma in detail

  • People can tolerate EMDR therapy better than exposure therapy (with less dropout rates)

    How effective is EMDR therapy?

  • EMDR has been empirically validated by over 30 randomized studies of people who have experienced trauma and is considered one of the most studied treatments for PTSD. (EMDR Institute, Inc)

  • The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (2017) has given EMDR Therapy the highest level of recommendation and placed it in the category of the top three trauma-focused psychotherapies with the strongest evidence from clinical trials

  • The World Health Organisation (2013) has endorsed EMDR and Trauma-focused CBT as the only psychotherapies recommended for children, adolescents, and adults with PTSD

What can EMDR help with?

 Research has shown EMDR to be most effective for PTSD and trauma.

Other conditions that EMDR has been shown to be effective for:

  • Depression

  • Anxiety

  • Panic attacks

  • Personality disorders

  • Complicated grief

  • Dissociative disorders

  • Pain disorders

  • Body dysmorphic disorders

  • Sexual or Physical abuse

  • Performance anxiety

  • Stress reduction

  • Disturbing memories

  • Phobias

How It Works

EMDR therapy helps people to recover from a traumatic or disturbing incident. After a traumatic incident occurs, the distressing images, thoughts, emotions, and body sensations can remain. When triggered, a person can become easily overwhelmed where they may feel as if they are back in that moment and where they may feel ‘frozen in time’.

EMDR therapy can help people to process these distressing memories through the use of bilateral stimulation (BLS), allowing for normal healing to occur.

Please click HERE for more detailed information on the theory behind EMDR.

What is an EMDR Session Like?

EMDR is an eight phased approach. The eight phases include: history taking & treatment planning, preparation, assessment, desensitisation/processing, installation, body scan, closure, and re-evaluation.

Please click HERE for a more detailed description of the eight phases.

During EMDR treatment, you will be asked to recall a traumatic or disturbing memory while utilizing bilateral stimulation (BLS). This is done either by moving your eyes from left to right following your therapists’ fingers, by alternating tapping on your knees or on your chest, or through the use of buzzers (TheraTappers).

EMDR therapy is also a three-pronged protocol. This means that EMDR therapy is only complete when attention has been brought to the past, present, and future. This involves dealing with past memories that have caused the problems, present memories that may be causing distress, or ideas about the future that may create anxiety.

Sessions are usually conducted weekly or bi-weekly depending on your individual needs.

How Many Sessions are Needed?

This is a very important question because every person is different and has their own individual requirements so there is no single answer. Furthermore, each person may react differently to EMDR therapy. The research shows that the processing of a single incident trauma may only take a few sessions, however for more complex trauma, EMDR therapy take much longer and can go on for several months.