EMDR — Eye Movement Desensitization and Re-processing

In 1987, Francine Shapiro was walking in the park when she realized that eye movements appeared to decrease the negative emotion associated with her own distressing memories.

She assumed that eye movements had a desensitizing effect, and when she experimented with this she found that others also had the same response to eye movements. It became apparent however that eye movements by themselves did not create comprehensive therapeutic effects and so Shapiro added other treatment elements, including a CBT component, and ultimately developed a standard procedure that she called Eye Movement Desensitization and Re-Processing (EMDR).

Over the last 18 years, evidence has accumulated that supports EMDR as an effective treatment for problems associated with distressing memories that relate to the experience of a negative or traumatic event.

EMDR was determined to be an effective treatment of trauma by the American
Psychiatric Association (2004). (Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Clients with Acute Stress Disorder and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association Practice Guidelines.)

EMDR was placed in the "A" category as “strongly recommended” for the treatment of trauma by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of
Defense (2004). (VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Post-Traumatic Stress. Washington, DC.)

What can I expect in an EMDR session?
During EMDR the client focuses on past and present experiences in brief sequential doses while simultaneously focusing on an external stimulus. You are then guided to let new material become the focus of the next set of dual attention. This sequence of dual attention and personal association is repeated many times during the session.

After EMDR processing, clients generally report that the emotional distress related to the memory has been eliminated, or greatly decreased, and that they have gained important insights. This is important, as these emotional and cognitive shifts usually result in spontaneous behavioral, and personal, change.