EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy treatment for PTSD and other psychological problems. It is a structured therapy that encourages the patient to briefly focus on the traumatic memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation. EMDR helps the patient process upsetting memories, thoughts, and feelings related to the trauma, which can allow them to start to heal. The therapy uses a unique approach to treating PTSD by utilizing the mechanisms of the brain and facilitating the brain’s natural process of healing. EMDR works by specifically using dual attention stimuli (DAS) which facilitates the desensitization of traumatic content, lessening the impact of common PTSD symptoms like flashbacks, triggers of sound or smell, and hypervigilance.
EMDR is an effective treatment for PTSD, and research has shown that it is extremely effective for anxiety and panic, depression, and other serious mental health issues. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has noted that EMDR is effective for treating symptoms of acute and chronic PTSD. The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense have jointly issued clinical practice guidelines that "strongly recommended" EMDR for the treatment of PTSD in both military and non-military populations. EMDR is also endorsed by the World Health Organization, American Veterans Association, and the International Society for.
EMDR therapy is relatively new, but dozens of clinical trials since its development show that this technique is effective and can help a person faster than many other methods. EMDR therapy is very common around the world, and it is widely assumed that severe emotional pain requires a long time to heal. However, repeated studies show that by using EMDR therapy, people can experience the benefits of psychotherapy that once took years to make a difference.
EMDR therapy is a short-term treatment, and clients struggling with PTSD can experience positive treatment effects after a few sessions. EMDR does not require the person to talk or share events in detail like other therapies. Instead, the patient focuses on a back-and-forth movement or sound while they call to mind the upsetting memory until shifts occur in the way that they experience that memory and more information from the past is processed. EMDR facilitates the nervous system’s existing mechanisms of healing by desensitizing past traumatic memories so that they no longer trigger a fight, flight, freeze, or fawn emergency response in the body.
