EMDR Therapy: How it Helps

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

EMDR Therapy eye movement desensitization & reprocessing unlocking the mind's power to heal

Unlocks the Power of the Mind to Heal
with EMDR Therapy

By Steve B. Reed, LPC, LMSW, LMFT

“Independent studies have found EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) up to 90% successful.”
--Association for the Advancement of Science
“EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) is the most revolutionary, important method to emerge in psychotherapy in decades.”
--Herbert Fensterheim, Cornell University

What is EMDR Therapy?

Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing, (EMDR) is the new breakthrough treatment that is revolutionizing psychotherapy. You may have seen it on TV's 20/20 or CNN. It was used to help the survivors of the Oklahoma City Bombing and victims in war-torn Bosnia. Faster and more effective than older forms of therapy, this leading-edge approach is now assisting people with a wide range of psychological problems. It is taking the pain out of people's painful experiences, healing emotional wounds, improving self-esteem, and boosting personal performance. In many cases, people are getting results in months where years of conventional therapy have failed. EMDR is proving to be a powerful tool for relieving human suffering and empowering people to turn life's stumbling blocks into building blocks.

How Was EMDR Therapy Discovered?

In 1987, Dr. Francine Shapiro discovered that disturbing thoughts and images began to desensitize and become less upsetting as she engaged in a pattern of rapid eye movements. Her research leads to the development of a therapeutic key that seems to unlock the mind's natural ability to process problems and pain. Shapiro may be the Thomas A. Edison of psychotherapy. Her EMDR therapy is providing the filament that makes the light bulb of the mind work. EMDR Therapy is helping people illuminate their way out of the darkness of emotional distress.

How Does EMDR Therapy Help People?

When a person has overwhelming or traumatic experiences the brain goes into a form of shock. This interferes with the mind's ability to process those upsetting experiences. The mind then shuts down and the traumatic images become stuck psycho-neurologically. This material then continues to loop, over and over, reactivating the upsetting emotions and physiological sensations that have been associated with high impact events. The mind's natural ability to heal is blocked. EMDR:

1) Reengages the brains information processing engine

2) Quickly guides the mind to the images and associations that embody the distress

3) Desensitizes the pain that's associated with the overwhelming events and

4) Enables the mind to process through the problem at an accelerated rate.

This results in the mind returning to a state of balance, comfort, and emotional well-being.