EMDR therapy has revolutionised the field of mental health treatments by helping individuals recover from past experiences. Whether it’s fear of dogs, bullying, addiction or serious life altering events, it has been proven that EMDR therapy can treat these. One study showed that 77% of combat veterans were free of PTSD within 12 sessions. It is not only recognised by the National Institute for Health & Care Excellence (NICE) but also the World Health Organisation (WHO) too. But what is EMDR therapy? And how does it work to process and alleviate trauma? Keep reading to find out.

Explaining EMDR therapy

EDMR or eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing therapy is a form of comprehensive psychotherapy. It helps in processing and recovering from past experiences that may be causing various mental health conditions to affecting your day to day life and well being. It involves using movements such as side to side eye movements in combination with talk therapy.

What can EMDR therapy help with?

EMDR therapy can help you process negative emotions or feelings, beliefs you feel about yourself and any sensory experiences you feel on your body that contribute to a range of mental health conditions.

EMDR therapy is best known as therapy that treats trauma or post traumatic stress disorder (also known as PTSD) but it can also be used for the treatment of other issues such as:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Behavioural problems
• Psychosis
• Addictions

How does EDMR work?

EMDR therapy can help you process negative emotions or feelings, beliefs you feel about yourself and any sensory experiences you feel on your body that contribute to a range of mental health conditions.

This form of therapy follows a specific structure in order to perform effectively. A therapist will begin by asking questions about your life to evaluate whether you are suitable to receive EMDR therapy. They will assess current symptoms you’re enduring and understand how your past has shaped your present. They will aim to answer questions like “What patterns have these past events created?” and “What traumatic experiences or events need to be resolved or processed to move forwards?“.

After this initial consultation, the next step of the therapy will begin which is beginning bilateral stimulation. The goal is to stimulate both hemispheres of the brain. The right hemisphere is often associated with creativity, intuition, emotional processing as well as processing visual information. The left hemisphere however is associated with processing logical reasoning, analytical thinking and sequential processing. By engaging both sides of the brain’s hemisphere, you are allowing yourself to process memories, emotions and events that may be stuck in nervous system.

The techniques that may be used are:

• Making eye movements from one side to another
• Listening to sounds that alternate from the right and left ear through headphones
• Tapping the left and right side of the body (e.g  on the shoulders)