Therapies
E.M.D.R
Eye Movement Desensitization
& Reprocessing
What
is E.M.D.R?
EMDR is an acronym for Eye Movement Desensitization and
Reprocessing. It is an innovative clinical treatment that has successfully
helped over a million individuals who have survived trauma, including sexual
abuse, domestic violence, combat, crime, and those suffering from a number
of other complaints
including depressions, addictions, phobias and a variety of self-esteem
issues.
return
to top
How
does it work?
EMDR is a complex method of psychotherapy that integrates
many of the successful elements of a range of therapeutic approaches in
combination with eye movements or other forms of rhythmical stimulation in
ways that stimulate the brain’s information processing system. With EMDR
therapy it is unnecessary to delve into decades-old psychological material,
but rather, by activating the information-processing system of the brain,
people can achieve their therapeutic goals at a rapid rate, with
recognizable changes that don’t disappear over time.
return to top
What
can it help?
Fourteen controlled studies support the efficacy of EMDR,
making it the most thoroughly researched method ever used in the treatment
of trauma. The most recent 5 studies with individuals suffering from events
such as rape, combat, loss of a loved one, accidents, natural disasters,
etc. have found that 84-90% no longer had post-traumatic stress disorder
after only three treatment sessions.
A recent study financed by Kaiser Permanente revealed
that EMDR was twice as effective in half the amount of time compared to the
standard traditional care. However, clients and clinicians should note that
EMDR is not a race. While many people show dramatic responses in a short
amount of time, there are also those who will progress more slowly and that
the slower progression is not abnormal. Just as in any therapy, we all
progress at the rate appropriate to the individual and the clinical
situation.
The major significance of EMDR is that it allows the
brain to heal its psychological problems at the same rate as the rest of the
body is healing its physical ailments. Because EMDR allows minds and body to
heal at the same rate, it is effectively making time irrelevant in therapy.
Given its wide application, EMDR promises to be the therapy of the future.
return to top
The
founder
Dr.
Francine Shapiro
is the creator of EMDR. She is a licensed psychologist and a senior research
fellow at the Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto. She is the Executive
Director of the EMDR Institute, which trains clinicians in the EMDR method.
She is the recipient of the 1994 Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award
presented by the California Psychological Association.
return to top
|
