Does your past invade your present?

You can't change what happened to you, but you can change the way you feel about it!

EMDR...the breakthrough therapy for overcoming anxiety, stress & trauma!

What is EMDR?

EMDR is a new, extremely effective psychotherapy used to treat troubling symptoms, such as anxiety, guilt, anger, depression, panic, insecurity, sleep disturbance, obsessive compulsive disorder and flashbacks which are the result of traumatic experiences. Variations of this proven treatment approach can also help build personal strengths, manage pain, and improve performance.

EMDR can significantly shorten the length of treatment and enhance results when used to treat many problems. Most people begin feeling relief immediately in the specific area addressed, even if the traumatic memory has been haunting them for decades--and the relief appears to be permanent.

Since Dr. Francine Shapiro's first published research study in 1989, EMDR has developed and evolved through the contributions of the 32,000 trained EMDR therapists and researchers all over the world. EMDR now incorporates elements from many different treatment approaches. To date, it has helped an estimated million people of all ages receive relief from many different kinds of psychological distress.

What do the initials "EMDR" stand for?

Eye Movement (EM): Initially Dr. Shapiro believed that rapid eye movements were a necessary part of the treatment. Now we know that the beneficial effects are facilitated by an alternating stimulation of the right and left hemispheres of the brain. Rapid eye movements accomplish this, as do bilateral alternating taps, tones or vibrations.

Desensitization (D) refers to the removal of the emotional disturbance associated with the traumatic memory (i.e. instead of just learning to control your reactions, the goal of EMDR treatment is to remove the need to react.)

Reprocessing (R) refers to the replacement of the unhealthy, negative beliefs associated with traumatic memories, with more healthy, positive beliefs.

How Does it Help?

Traditional therapies, which depend on logical thinking to resolve feelings, have met with limited success in treating victims of trauma. Sometimes these feelings defy logic. For instance, a woman abused as a child may know in her mind that the abuse was not her fault and that she couldn't have stopped it, however she may continue to feel guilt, shame or anxiety around people similar to the attacker. EMDR helps change those negative feelings.

Our minds and bodies were designed to heal. If you cut yourself, healing begins immediately. But if the cut becomes infected it will get worse and just covering it intensifies the problem.

An emotional trauma may fester, much like an infected cut. The brain's natural mechanism for processing disturbing events may not be able to handle the trauma. The emotional infection may last a lifetime, and can't be covered up with willpower, denial, anger, good deeds, or any defense mechanisms. EMDR helps uncover the mental infection and remove its sting.

Sometimes our body seems to react without engaging the brain. Words come out that have nothing to do with the present situation. This may be due to a BODY MEMORY. These "reactions out of nowhere" may be body sensations related to past trauma. They usually show up as irrational anxiety, resistance, fears, or inappropriate behaviors. They can be very hard to resist.

A skilled EMDR therapist can use negative body memories to help identify and desensitize the offending memories or irrational beliefs. The patient remains awake and alert while the therapist helps him find the strengths and resources to process the troubling past. Instead of trying to reason the problem away, EMDR engages the unconscious mind, which controls the body memories, to find the answers. The result is rational, reasonable, positive and permanent.

Has EMDR Been Researched?

Since Dr. Francine Shapiro's first study in 1989 with victims of rape, molestation and Vietnam vets, EMDR has become the most researched and validated treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTDS). Dozens of scientific studies have consistently shown it is effective and long lasting resuls for PTSD and a wide variety of disorders. For a summary of some of the EMDR research look at the web site http://www.emdria.org .

Researchers are not only verifying EMDR's effectiveness, but they are trying to understand the brain biology that makes change possible. Dr. Bessel VanDerKolk, Director of Trauma Research at Harvard University, has used PET scans to map brain activity during traumatic flashbacks and during EMDR processing. During a traumatic flashback brain activity tends to be restricted to the right side of the brain, especially in he part of the brain called the Amygdala, which normally processes current emotional information. The left side of the brain where logical processing takes place is not active during flashbacks. By repeatedly stimulating the left and right sides of the brain alternately while processing trauma, EMDR helps the patient use all his/her reason and intellect to get these traumas unstuck and stored as 'just memories' with the emotional baggage.

EMDR can't change what happened to you, but it can help change the way you feel about it, enabling you to learn and grow from the experience.

How Long Does EMDR Therapy Take?

This depends on several factors including the nature of the problem being treated, the client's history, and the client's ability to tolerate high levels of disturbances for a short time. In some cases, when the problem relates to one specific event, only a few EMDR treatments are necessary. Usually, however, many memories and issues are interrelated and complicated by subsequent mistakes, so more sessions are necessary.

The same event may effect people differently according to their prior experience and the degree of involvement. For example, a fatal car crash may cause less trauma to an EMS worker than to a child on the scene, the person responsible for the crash, the mother of a victim, or the victim himself.

It is impossible to say how many sessions are necessary; however in most cases EMDR can significantly shorten the length of treatment and greatly enhance results. Most people begin feeling relief immediately in the specific area addressed, even if the traumatic event has been haunting them for decades.

When is EMDR Appropriate?

Traumas range from the horrific events, like combat, rape or the loss of child, to everyday chronic horrors like daily negative childhood messages leading a child to grow up believing he or she will never be good enough. EMDR trauma therapy can be a very intense emotional experience. It is NOT appropriate to begin EMDR trauma work with clients who are unwilling or unable to tolerate highly disturbing emotions. Fortunately, variations of EMDR with traditional therapy can be used to build strengths and prepare people for the more intense trauma treatment. An EMDR therapist must take a thorough history to determine if and how EMDR can be used as part of an overall treatment plan.

EMDR has been successfully used to treat many problems. Some include:

Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, Anxiety, Depression, Phobias, Addictions, Complicated Grief, Sexual Abuse, Panic Attacks, Pain Management, Dissociative Disorders, Performance Anxiety.

What Experts Say:

"EMDR is proving to be the silicon chip of psychotherapy; it allows people to process incredible amounts of material in a shockingly short time." (Michael Elkin, Director, Center for Collaborative Solutions)

"EMDR provides a proven approach to address the trauma that can interfere with healthy grief and mourning following the loss of a loved one." (Therese Rando, Founder & Executive Director, Institute for the Study of Treatment of Loss)

What Patients Say:

"The treatment made me look deep, very deep, into my own existence. I'm more attentive to my feelings. Now I treasure each and every moment of my life." (Richard Webster, Mine fire victim, quoted in Family Therapy Networker)

"Now, when I talk about what happened to me, it's definitely reality, but the fear's not there anymore...it's astounding. I've been given a portion of my life back." (Emily G., victim of abduction and rape, quoted in American Health)