Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Eye move­ment desen­si­ti­za­tion and repro­cess­ing (EMDR) is a method of ther­a­py used to treat PTSD and oth­er con­di­tions includ­ing anx­i­ety, depres­sion and pho­bias which are inter­fer­ing with an indi­vid­u­als life. Its pur­pose is to heal and help change neg­a­tive core beliefs.

EMDR uses a com­bi­na­tion of sen­so­ry input, such as guid­ed back and forth eye move­ment or hand tap­ping while talk­ing about neg­a­tive thoughts and feel­ings you are expe­ri­enc­ing. Francine Shapiro devel­oped EMDR, and it con­sists of these 8 phases:

• Phase One: Client His­to­ry and Treat­ment Planning
• Phase Two: Preparation
• Phase Three: Assessment
• Phase Four: Desensitization
• Phase Five: Installation
• Phase Six: Body Scan
• Phase Sev­en: Closure
• Phase Eight: Reevaluation

The use of EMDR is meant to help indi­vid­u­als work through neg­a­tive feel­ings and let go of some of them, while replac­ing them with beliefs and feel­ings which are pos­i­tive and fruit­ful. This will help an indi­vid­ual work toward a place where mem­o­ries of the trau­mat­ic events can will not have to be accom­pa­nied by the stress and anx­i­ety and neg­a­tive feel­ings it once brought. The goal is to pro­vide indi­vid­u­als with the tools they need to man­age these mem­o­ries and any asso­ci­at­ed feel­ings on their own.