Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a transformative therapy for those who have experienced trauma or distressing events. Developed in the late 1980s by Francine Shapiro, EMDR uses an 8 phase protocol that helps your brain to heal from traumatic memories that might be causing ongoing emotional pain or distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences in a way that regular talk therapy can not.

How it Works…

In an EMDR session, you'll revisit troubling memories with the guidance of your therapist while also following a specific set of eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation. This process helps your brain re-process these memories, making them less distressing and helping you form new, healthier perspectives. It’s especially helpful if you find it hard to talk about your feelings, as it provides another way to process and heal.R epeated studies show that by using EMDR therapy people can experience the benefits of psychotherapy that once took years to make a difference. 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 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 can resume.  Using the detailed protocols and procedures learned in EMDR therapy training sessions, clinicians help clients to activate their natural healing processes.

Who Can Benefit from EMDR?

EMDR is highly effective for people dealing with:

- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

- Anxiety and depression

- Traumatic memories or events

Proven Results and Recognition

EMDR has been backed by more than 30 studies showing its effectiveness. For example:

• 84% to 90% of people with a single trauma no longer experienced PTSD after just three 90-minute sessions.

• In another study, all single-trauma victims and 77% of those with multiple traumas were PTSD-free after six 50-minute sessions.

• 77% of combat veterans saw significant improvement after 12 sessions.

Recognized by major organizations like the American Psychiatric Association and the World Health Organization, EMDR is used worldwide by over 100,000 clinicians, helping millions find relief and healing.

There has been so much research on EMDR therapy that it is now recognized as an effective form of treatment for trauma and other disturbing experiences by organizations such as the American Psychiatric Association, the World Health Organization and the Department of Defense. Given the worldwide recognition as an effective treatment of trauma, you can easily see how EMDR therapy would be effective in treating the “everyday” memories that are the reason people have low self-esteem, feelings of powerlessness, and all the myriad problems that bring them in for therapy. Over 100,000 clinicians throughout the world use the therapy.  Millions of people have been treated successfully over the past 25 years.