The mind can often heal itself naturally, in the same way as the body does. 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. EMDR works with a direct effect on the brain, and so it’s very different from conventional talking therapies. More traditional talk therapy will often stimulate a traumatic memory, but lack the mechanism to resolve it. This radically different approach is the reason why EMDR has become the preferred treatment for PTSD/trauma and why conventional counseling is not recommended. Typically, EMDR is quickly effective precisely because it does not rely on lengthy life analysis or repetitious reliving of problems. Clients who prefer not to talk in detail about what happened to them do just as well as those who are able to discuss these traumatic events. The result, even for those who doubt whether EMDR will work, is almost always transformative. Clients who have engaged in EMDR have seen dramatic improvement in their symptoms in much less time than traditional talk therapy because the process addresses deep seated negative beliefs and replaces them with more realistic and adaptive truths. EMDR is a type of therapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences. EMDR seeks to resolve issues from the past, relieve the symptoms experienced in the present, and to provide a new template for dealing with the future. EMDR is a fresh approach to your problems using the latest proven techniques that can dramatically change how you experience you everyday life. It is widely assumed that severe emotional pain requires a long time to heal. EMDR therapy shows that the mind can in fact heal from psychological trauma much as the body recovers from physical trauma. When you cut your hand, your body works to close the wound. If a foreign object or repeated injury irritates the wound, it festers and causes pain. Once the block is removed, healing resumes. EMDR therapy demonstrates that a similar sequence of events occurs with mental processes. The brain’s information processing system naturally moves toward improving mental health. If the system is blocked or imbalanced by the impact of a disturbing event, the emotional wound festers and can cause intense suffering. Once the block is removed, healing resumes. With successful EMDR treatment, the natural adaptive processes are resumed and the person moves on and through this memory or sets of memories. They still recall what has happened, but it is no longer upsetting, disturbing or negatively influencing their current life. Using the detailed protocols and procedures learned in EMDR therapy, clinicians help clients activate their natural healing processes.
EMDR Therapy can be helpful in treating most mental health problems but not everyone who benefits from EMDR is diagnosed with a mental illness. EMDR can help with a number of life’s stresses and conflicts that can affect anyone. For example, it may help you: