What is EMDR used for? EMDR is successful in healing many issues, including:
| Trauma | Personal Issues |
| Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | Grief and loss |
| Childhood abuse (sexual, physical, and emotional) | Self-esteem issues |
| Physical assault | Relationship problems |
| Sexual assault | Anger and aggression |
| Domestic violence | Fears and phobias |
| Victims of crime | Chronic pain |
| Car accidents | Depression |
| Medical procedure trauma | Stress |
| Natural disasters | Sleep disturbances |
| Witnessing violence | Shame or guilt |
| Performance blocks (sports, creativity, sales, school) |
Many clients who have experienced limited results after years of traditional talk therapy have been helped by EMDR therapy. EMDR promotes significant reduction in many symptoms, such as flashbacks, nightmares, fears, and emotional distress. EMDR is safely used with children, adolescents and adults. It is effective in transforming negative blocking beliefs into realistic, positive self-beliefs, which allow a person to deal with life's occurrences in a healthy, self-confident manner.
What happens in a session? EMDR is different for everyone because the healing process is guided from within. Sometimes past memories and issues come up which are related to the current concern. These are also treated with EMDR, often in the same session, but sometimes they are targeted for treatment in a later session. Sometimes memories bring up unpleasant emotions and/or body sensations. This is normal with this procedure and usually only lasts a few minutes if the EMDR processing is allowed to continue. The intensity of the disturbing memory or emotions tends to fade and lose its power to negatively affect your life as they have in the past.
Will you be in control? It is hard to predict what kinds of thoughts, feelings, body sensations, or memories will come up during EMDR; it depends upon your individual, natural healing process. You are always in charge of whether to continue or stop. You also decide how much to tell your therapist about the memories or traumatic experience. The therapist serves as a guide to help you stay on track and get the maximum benefit from your therapy session by encouraging you to continue through the difficult parts.
Why bring up disturbing memories? When painful memories are avoided they continue to have power over our lives. A flashback or nightmare can feel as upsetting and overwhelming as the original experience; however, they do not help us to heal. In therapy, and with EMDR, you can face the memory and heal from it in a safe setting where you do not have to feel overwhelmed. With EMDR, the memory is reprocessed and loses its ability to affect you any longer. We then use EMDR to internalize new, healthy beliefs about yourself and your life, which then enable you to make healthy decisions and choices.
What happens after an EMDR treatment session? You may continue to process the material for days or even weeks after a session, perhaps having vivid dreams, strong feelings, further memory recall, or new insights. This may feel confusing, but it is just a continuation of the healing that was initiated with the EMDR. These can be documented and reviewed with your therapist, thereby, allowing for further healing. When the distressing symptoms are eliminated, further sessions allow the therapist to guide you in learning new skills and new ways of coping.
Are there any precautions? Yes. It is important that your therapist be formally trained in EMDR, as well as having expertise in the type of problem or issue for which you are seeking help. I have been trained by the EMDR Institute in both Levels I and II, and have attended advanced training as well. I have worked for several years in the area of trauma and abuse, relationship issues, and personal growth, and use EMDR along with many other treatment methods.
I invite your questions about EMDR and suggest that you visit www.emdrcanada.org for even more information on EMDR.