EMDR

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy, commonly known as EMDR, is a mental health therapy method. EMDR treats mental health conditions that happen because of memories from traumatic events in your past. It’s best known for its role in treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but its use is expanding to include treatment of many other conditions.

Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing

*EMDR is a therapeutic modality that allows for processing WITHOUT talking about the event outloud.

EMDR is a structured therapy that encourages the client to focus briefly on the trauma memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation (typically eye movements), which is associated with a reduction in the vividness and emotion associated with the trauma memories. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an extensively researched, effective psychotherapy method proven to help people recover from trauma and PTSD symptoms. Ongoing research supports positive clinical outcomes showing EMDR therapy as a helpful treatment for disorders such as anxiety, depression, OCD, chronic pain, addictions, and other distressing life experiences (Maxfield, 2019). EMDR therapy has even been superior to Prozac in trauma treatment (Van der Kolk et al., 2007).

What conditions are problems does EMDR treat?

The most widespread use of EMDR is for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Mental healthcare providers also use it in the treatment of the following conditions:

Anxiety disorders: Generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, phobias and social anxiety/phobia.
Depression disorders: Major depressive disorder, persistent depressive disorder and illness-related depression.
Dissociative disorders: Dissociative identity disorder or amnesia and depersonalization or derealization disorder.
Eating disorders: Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder.
Gender dysphoria (feeling as though your gender is different from the one assigned to you at birth).
Obsessive-compulsive disorders: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), body dysmorphic disorder and hoarding disorder.
Personality disorders: Borderline personality disorder, avoidant personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder.
Trauma disorders: Acute stress disorder, PTSD and adjustment disorder.