EMDR Therapy

EMDR

EMDR Therapy (or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy) is an integrative therapy that helps people heal from traumatic events as well as, life disturbing experiences. Much of this natural coping mechanism occurs during sleep, particularly during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Francine Shapiro developed Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) in 1987, utilizing this natural process in order to successfully treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Since then, EMDR has been used to effectively treat a wide range of mental health problems and to help individuals affected by traumatic events such as the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings, the Boston Marathon bombings, the Columbine shooting, the Joplin, Missouri tornadoes, and the tragedy of September 11.

What happens when a person becomes traumatized? A majority of the time, your body routinely manages new information and experiences without your awareness. However, when an experience out of the ordinary occurs and you are traumatized by an overwhelming event (e.g. a car accident) or by being repeatedly subjected to distress (e.g. childhood neglect), your natural coping mechanism can become overstimulated. That event can become an unprocessed memory and get stored in the brain creating symptoms that are uncomfortable. Physical sensations, emotions, thoughts, and images associated with the event can get locked into the brain, and without treatment, this may lead to distressing symptoms and behaviors. Often the memory itself can be different, but the painful feelings such as anxiety, panic, anger or despair are continually triggered in the present. Your ability to live in the present and learn from new experiences can therefore become inhibited. EMDR helps create the connections between your brains memory networks, enabling your brain to process the traumatic memory in a very natural way.