EMDR is eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy. It is a form of mental health therapy. EMDR aims to treat mental health conditions caused by memories from traumatic events in your past. It is most commonly used in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.

What is EMDR Therapy?

EMDR is not a traditional talk therapy like most other psychotherapies. It is more of a mindfulness-based therapy. It stands for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing.

How Effective is EMDR Treatment?

EMDR aims to alleviate painful memories of making eye movements while thinking about a traumatic experience. It achieves this by not giving your full attention to the sad events as you remember them.

EMDR helps to reduce the intensity of your memory. It also provides space to manipulate it without an overwhelming psychological response.

What Conditions Can EMDR Therapy Treat?

EMDR is often recommended for people living with overwhelming traumatic memories and PTSD symptoms. This therapy can be used in the following situations:

• Substance use disorders
• Panic attack
• Depression
• Eating disorders
• Bipolar disorder
• Psychosis
• Anxiety disorders
• Backache

How Does it Work?

The theory behind eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy is that traumatic memories cause changes in the brain. These changes prevent the mind from properly processing information. This causes anxiety and intrusive thoughts.

The therapy in question proceeds in 8 stages. These stages are as follows:

Stage 1: Client history and treatment planning

The therapist assesses the client's ability to tolerate exposure to disturbing memories. Based on these evaluations, it creates the treatment plan.

Stage 2: Preparation

The therapist forms the basis of treatment by establishing a therapeutic relationship with the client. It also teaches the person self-control techniques to deal with emerging distressing memories.

Stage 3: Evaluation

EMDR, the therapist identifies traumatic memories that the client needs to address. The person then selects an image to represent each memory, noting the negative beliefs and physical sensations that accompany these memories.

Stage 4: Desensitization

Desensitization involves reducing the client's disturbing reactions, including physical sensations, while contemplating the traumatic memory.

Stage 5: Installation

The focus of this phase is to upload the positive thoughts that the client identified in phase 3.

Stage 6: Body scan

It is a meditative technique in which a person scans their body from head to toe to notice the physical sensations that occur.

Stage 7: Closing

At the end of each session, the therapist stabilizes the client using the self-control techniques discussed in step 2.

Stage 8: Re-evaluation

It is the last stage. It includes a review of the effectiveness of treatment so far.

What are the Advantages of EMDR?

EMDR therapy has several advantages. These are as follows:

• It is an effective form of therapy.
• It tends to work faster than other forms of therapy. People who receive EMDR therapy start seeing results much earlier than other types of therapy.
• Other forms of therapy typically include journaling or other homework outside of your sessions. However, the therapy in question involves less homework.
• EMDR focuses on processing and resolving your trauma. Other methods involve identifying and even reliving negative events. So, this therapy is less stressful.

What are the Disadvantages?

The disadvantages of EMDR are as follows:

• It only works with conditions related to traumatic experiences. So if you have a mental health problem due to an inherited condition, an injury, EMDR is unlikely to help.
• Experts still cannot fully explain why this therapy works, despite the evidence that it works.