What is EMDR Therapy?

EMDR Therapy is a powerful psychological therapy that enables people to heal from previous trauma

EMDR Therapy stands for eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing therapy and was developed by a psychologist called Francine Shapiro.

Sometimes when an individual experiences a trauma or difficult life event, the memory can become ‘stuck’. This means that the memory can become difficult to process and can lead to many challenging symptoms that can start to have an impact on day to day life.

These can include some or all of the following:

  • Flashbacks of the memory, these can be auditory, visual, sensory of olfactory (smell).

  • Nightmares

  • Increased anxiety

  • Hyper-vigilance - a heightened state of alertness

  • Low mood

  • Intrusive thoughts

  • Panic attacks

  • Dissociation - feeling detached from yourself and the world around you.

  • Avoidance, especially in relation to avoiding a situation or task, for example, social situations, driving, busy environments

  • Feeling easily emotionally overwhelmed

  • Memory loss

  • Negative cycles of thought

  • Reduced confidence and self-esteem

  • Self-isolation

  • Reduced motivation and drive

  • Reduced energy levels

  • Anger and irritability

  • Reduced interest in meaningful activities

  • Reduced engagement in self-care

  • Difficulty concentrating

  • Struggling with sleep

  • Experiencing guilt or shame

  • Physical pain

  • Physical symptoms such as increased heart rate, shortness of breath feeling dizzy etc.

  • Maladaptive coping strategies

  • Loss of personal identity

Note for Ashley: is there a way to make list of symptoms look more visually interesting?

EMDR Therapy works by changing the way traumatic memories are stored in your brain by assisting you to process the memory. This is done via a technique called bilateral stimulation which can completed via range of methods including eye movements and self-tapping.

Once a memory is fully processed you should be able to recall the trauma without the emotional intensity and associated symptoms.