EMDR
Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing
EMDR is a form of psychotherapy used to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Over time, evidence has shown it to be effective for depression and anxiety.
What to expect from EMDR?
EMDR utilises the natural healing ability of your body. After a thorough assessment, you will be asked specific questions about a particular distressing memory. Eye movements, similar to those during Rapid Eye Movement (REM sleep), will be recreated simply by asking you to watch the therapist’s finger moving backwards and forwards across your visual field. Sometimes, a bar of moving lights or headphones is used instead.
How EMDR works
The eye movements will last for a short while and then stop. You will then be asked to feed back on the experiences you have had during each of these sets of eye movements. With repeated sets of eye movements, the memory tends to change in such a way that it loses its painful intensity and simply becomes a neutral memory of an event in the past. EMDR helps you to process your emotions in a safe and guided way.
