EMDR
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a form of psychotherapy designed by Francine Shapiro in the 1980s to provide relief of symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In EMDR, the client remembers the traumatic event while applying bilateral stimulation, such as side-to-side eye movement or physical stimulation, such as tapping.
learn more ↓
➤ The 2013 World Health Organization (WHO) practice guideline report that EMDR "is based on the idea that negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are the result of unprocessed memories. The treatment involves standardized procedures that include focusing simultaneously on spontaneous associations of traumatic images, thoughts, emotions and bodily sensations and bilateral stimulation that is most commonly in the form of repeated eye movements."
➤ The Department of Defense/Department of Veterans Affairs Practice Guidelines include EMDR as a first line of defense, recommended for all trauma populations.
-
When a traumatic or very challenging event occurs, information processing of the experience in memory can be stunted. The threatening experience disrupts the usual normal adaptive information processing, resulting in the unprocessed information being dysfunctionally stored in memory networks.
-
EMDR is based on the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model and appears to facilitate reprocessing of the distressing memories, leading to decreased psychological arousal when the memory is retrieved.
-
EMDR is supported by numerous published case reports and controlled research that demonstrates its efficacy as an empirically validated treatment of trauma and other adverse life experiences. Click here for a summary of the research.
Start Your Healing Journey
Scedule a free consulation for EMDR therapy in Asheville ↓
