What is EMDR? 

Much of our bodies natural coping and healing mechanisms occur 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). 

What happens when you are traumatised? 

Most of the time 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 (a car accident, sexual assault, natural disaster) or by being repeatedly subjected to distress (childhood neglect, psychological abuse), your natural coping mechanism can become overloaded. This overloading can result in disturbing experiences remaining frozen in your brain or being "unprocessed". 

What is an EMDR session like? 

After a thorough assessment and history taking, you will be asked specific questions about a particular disturbing memory. Eye movements, similar to those during REM sleep, will be recreated simply by asking you to watch the therapist's finger moving backwards and forwards across your visual field.  The eye movements will last for a short while and then stop. You will then be asked to report back on the experiences you have had during each of these sets of eye movements. Experiences during a session may include changes in thoughts, images and feelings. 

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. 

Can anyone benefit from EMDR? 

For some, EMDR can accelerate therapy by resolving the impact of past traumas and allowing you to live more fully in the present. It is not, however, appropriate for everyone. The process can be rapid, and any disturbing experiences, if they occur, 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 used as a brief focused treatment; however it is most successful when used as part of longer, in-depth psychotherapy.  
What is best for you and your needs can be discussed during our initial session.
EMDR sessions tend to last for approx 90 minutes. 

What evidence is there that EMDR is a successful treatment? 

EMDR is an innovative clinical treatment which has successfully helped over a million individuals. 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: 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.