EMDR Therapy: Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing
What is EMDR Therapy?
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an effective and extensively researched psychotherapy method. It has been shown to help individuals recover primarily from trauma and other distressing life experiences associated with mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).PTSD), anxiety, depression, and many other conditions.
You might be interested in reading EMDR: myths and realities of the trendy therapy.
Scientific Evidence and International Recognition
World Health Organization's Positioning
The World Health Organisation has been recommending EMDR since 2013 as one of the recommended treatments for trauma-related disorders.
Other Institutions That Endorse EMDR Therapy
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews indicates that trauma-oriented therapies such as EMDR are more effective in post-traumatic pathologies.
• The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) lists it as one of the treatments of choice for PTSD.
• In many other clinical guidelines and international organisations, EMDR is listed among the recommended therapies.
Other Institutions That Endorse EMDR Therapy
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews indicates that trauma-oriented therapies such as EMDR are more effective in post-traumatic pathologies.
How does EMDR differ from other therapies?
Both EMDR and cognitive behavioural therapies (CBT) have shown high levels of evidence for the treatment of traumatic memories. Unlike these psychotherapies, EMDR does not require the patient to speak in detail about the problem or to complete tasks between sessions.
EMDR vs. Exposure Therapy
In exposure therapy (a type of CBT), the aim is for the person to come into contact with the emotions that the memory generates, without avoiding it, until a process of habituation progressively occurs, reducing the discomfort.
In EMDR therapy, the person will briefly touch upon the memory, allowing for an associative process with other memories, sensations, or thoughts. There is therefore a reduction in distress (desensitisation), but a process of multiple associations (reprocessing) is also initiated.
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EMDR versus Cognitive Therapies
In more cognitive types of therapy, work is done on the beliefs that the patient has about the event so that they change to a healthier perspective. In EMDR, although the subject's beliefs are recorded, there is no specific work done on them, but rather they change as a consequence of processing the memory.
Recommended reading What is EMDR actually about?
Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) Model
The central idea of the EMDR model is that the nervous system has mechanisms to process and integrate everything that happens to us, including difficult or stressful experiences.
When these experiences are more intense or complex for the person, the system becomes blocked, and the memory remains stored without being processed, with the same perceptions, thoughts, emotions, and sensations. These unprocessed memories can give rise to problems and symptoms in the present.
EMDR therapy has defined procedures for accessing and unblocking these memories, allowing the nervous system to finally integrate them. Within these procedures, one of the elements used is eye movement or other forms of bilateral brain stimulation (tactile, auditory).
What Happens in the Brain During EMDR Therapy?
Our brains have a natural way of recovering from traumatic memories and events. This process involves communication between:
- The amygdala: Brain nucleus that functions as an alarm signal for stressful events The hippocampus An area that helps with learning, including memories about safety and danger
- The prefrontal cortex: Analyse and control behaviour and emotion.
- The prefrontal cortex: Analyse and control behaviour and emotion.
When something happens that overwhelms the brain's capacity to process it, the fight, flight or freeze responses remain active. EMDR therapy helps the brain to process these memories and allows the interrupted natural healing process to resume.
Who can benefit from EMDR therapy?
EMDR therapy helps children and adults of all ages. Therapists use EMDR therapy to address a wide range of issues:
Conditions and Problems Treated by EMDR
- PTSD and other trauma and stress-related problems
- Anxiety, panic attacks and phobias
- Chronic illnesses and medical problems
- Depression
- Bipolar and psychotic disorders
- Dissociative disorders
- Eating disorders • Grief and loss
- Pain
- Performance anxiety
- Personality disorders
- Physical, sexual and emotional violence and abuse
- Sleep disorders
- Substance misuse and addiction
EMDR's approach is not diagnosis-centred but focuses on the root of each disorder, which is influenced by the environment in which the person has developed and related.
Is it safe to do EMDR without a trained therapist?
EMDR therapy is a mental health intervention that should only be offered by properly trained and licensed professionals.
At Calma Psychologists, We have 2 professionals with official EMDR accreditation.
EMDR Spain Association neither approves nor supports the indiscriminate use of EMDR therapy, nor any isolated element of it (such as eye movements, bilateral sounds or tapping) as a virtual «do-it-yourself» therapy.
Unsupervised use can be counterproductive. Only psychologists and doctors may access EMDR Europe Association accredited training.
History and Origin of EMDR Therapy
In the late 1980s, Francine Shapiro discovered a connection between eye movement and persistent disturbing memories. Based on this personal observation, she began to study this phenomenon and develop what eventually became EMDR therapy.
Extension History of EMDR
Despite initial scepticism, Dr. Shapiro's work evolved from a hypothesis into a structured psychotherapy process, supported by research studies on changes during sessions, effectiveness across different pathologies, and effects on the nervous system.
Francine Shapiro encouraged the founding of the EMDR International Association, which has more than 11,000 mental health professionals. Until her death in 2019, she promoted research into EMDR and the continuous review of its procedures.
What is the EMDR Therapy Process like for the Patient?
An experienced EMDR therapist must know the case in depth and understand with the patient the potential connections between the problem they bring to therapy and their past history.
EMDR Treatment Phases
- Initial assessment Map of connections between the current problem and previous history
- Preparation Achieve stability, manage emotions, and feel secure
- Processing Access each relevant memory with a negative thought, belief, emotion, and bodily sensation
- Installation: Work on a positive belief that involves a change in perspective
A typical EMDR therapy session lasts between 50 and 70 minutes. EMDR therapy can be used as a targeted intervention integrated into more verbal psychotherapy, as an additional therapy with a different therapist or as a treatment in its own right.
References
- (References: Parnell, L. (1997) Transforming Trauma: EMDR. New York: WW Norton & Co.
- Spanish EMDR Association – https://www.emdr-es.org/Sobre-EMDR/Que-es-EMDR
Quick read to expand information on EMDR and/or related topics:
- What is TRAUMA? https://calmapsicologos.com/es/que-es-un-trauma/
- Therapy service EMDR at Calma Psicólogos
- Treatment for the Calm Duel Psychologists
Post written by Samara Valenzuela
If, after reading this entry, you think you might need to seek evaluation to see if you require EMDR therapy, and you would like to learn more about the professionals who offer it at CALMA PSICOLOGOS, please do not hesitate to CLICK.
Disclosure to understand how EMDR therapy works
It is a knowledge-enriching book for patients in which psychologist Francine Shapiro gives details about the fundamentals of the EMDR Therapy model. It is reading material, not technical training, nor does it substitute for an appointment with a professional.