EMDR

EMDR is based on the understanding that distressing memories and negative experiences can become “stuck” in the brain and cause emotional and psychological distress. The therapy works by facilitating the reprocessing of these memories to reduce their emotional charge and help the individual integrate them in a healthier way.

The process involves a series of 8 phases, including:

1. History-taking: The therapist gathers information about the client’s history and identifies specific traumatic memories to target during the therapy.
2. Preparation: The therapist helps the client develop coping strategies and techniques for managing emotional distress that may arise during the session.
3. Assessment: The therapist and client identify a target memory, the negative beliefs associated with it, and the preferred positive beliefs.
4. Desensitisation: This is the core of EMDR, where the client focuses on the traumatic memory while engaging in bilateral stimulation, often through guided eye movements, taps, or sounds. This process helps reprocess the memory in a way that reduces its emotional intensity.
5. Installation: Positive beliefs are reinforced, helping to replace negative beliefs with more adaptive, empowering thoughts.
6. Body Scan: The therapist guides the client to notice any residual physical tension related to the trauma, helping to release it.
7. Closure: The therapist ensures that the client feels stable and calm before ending the session, often by returning to the coping strategies developed in phase 2.
8. Reevaluation: In subsequent sessions, the therapist checks in on the progress made and addresses any remaining or new memories that arise.