Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
What is EMDR?
Eye Movement Decensitisation and Reprocessiong, or EMDR, is a therapy that helps clients working through traumas they are otherwise not able to work through themselves. It allows clients to process their negative self-beliefs and associated distress in a relatively short amount of time.
What happens in a session?
In the first session I typically spend time explaining what EMDR is, how it works and what we will do and the client can ask any questions they have and then we identify what goals you have for therapy. Then, if we have time we would start the process of looking for our first target, which is the issue that the therapy will revolve around, though it may take a few sessions to identify a good target.
Trust is extremely important in any therapy, however, and it may take the client a few sessions to feel comfortable sharing their distress. Some clients find it helpful focusing on a less distressing target at first, though this is entirely your choice.
What is EMDR used for?
Research into EMDR has found it to be extremely effective for PTSD and most studies have been in this area. Many clients have found it to be helpful for a range of other difficulties, however because the focus of EMDR is on negative self-beliefs, it can be helpful for a range of other difficulties including anxiety, depression, OCD and low self-worth.
Can EMDR help me?
If you are interested in seeing if EMDR can help you with your difficulty, please get in touch. EMDR can be used within a broader, more traditional exploratory psychotherapy and many of my clients have found this type of working extremely helpful, especially when they are unclear on where their distress stems from.