What is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing and was developed by Francine Shapiro in the late 80's. It was first used with combat veterans with PTSD, but has quickly come to be useful for eliminating symptoms associated with stress and trauma (from PTSD symptoms like flashbacks, panic attacks, intrusive thoughts, anxiety and phobias, through the continuum to depression, over-reacting anger, worry, disturbed sleep and so on – anything we’re referring to when we say we’re ‘stressed out’). It has been extensively studied, and validated by regulating and governmental bodies in the United States and around the world (WHO, APA, Dept. of Defense etc).
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing and was developed by Francine Shapiro in the late 80's. It was first used with combat veterans with PTSD, but has quickly come to be useful for eliminating symptoms associated with stress and trauma (from PTSD symptoms like flashbacks, panic attacks, intrusive thoughts, anxiety and phobias, through the continuum to depression, over-reacting anger, worry, disturbed sleep and so on – anything we’re referring to when we say we’re ‘stressed out’). It has been extensively studied, and validated by regulating and governmental bodies in the United States and around the world (WHO, APA, Dept. of Defense etc).
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When a traumatic or distressing experience occurs, it may overwhelm normal coping mechanisms. The memory and associated stimuli are inadequately processed and stored in an isolated memory network.
EMDR therapy is similar to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in chronic PTSD. The goal of EMDR is to reduce the long-lasting effects of distressing memories by developing more adaptive coping mechanisms. |
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