EMDR therapy in London – what is it, how does it work, is it effective?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a therapy technique that uses sensory stimuli, such as eye movements, to help patients suffering from PTSD, panic disorder, and chronic pain.
What is EMDR?
The EMDR therapy London is a therapeutic strategy that is based on numerous psychotherapy theories, including concepts from cognitive-behavioral therapy. EMDR techniques are used to unlock emotional processes that have been frozen by trauma or illness.
By unlocking emotions, the patient can influence the healing process. EMDR allows you to begin to heal from the fear and pain associated with trauma and emotional stress, and also provides a new perspective that can positively affect the patient’s self-esteem and strengthen the patient’s personal beliefs about their abilities.
Francine Shapiro, a psychologist, invented EMDR therapy in 1987. Her goal was to help people cope with experiences that caused emotional trauma. Research on this method and its use is constantly evolving, making EMDR an increasingly popular technique for treating mental health disorders.
EMDR uses a number of stimulation techniques, including:
- eye movements,
- finger tapping,
- audio stimulation.
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When is EMDR used?
Originally, EMDR was used to treat trauma , but the technique is now being used for a variety of mental illnesses. In the treatment of panic disorder , for example, the therapist may ask the patient to pay attention to frightening physical sensations or thoughts that are associated with panic attacks. For example, if driving often leads to anxiety, EMDR can help keep you calm before driving.
EMDR may be helpful for:
- addiction,
- anxiety,
- chronic pain
- depression ,
- eating disorders,
- panic attacks,
- panic disorder,
- phobias
- post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),
- self-esteem problems.
EMDR can be used alone or in combination with other psychotherapeutic techniques and medications.
How is EMDR done?
EMDR has eight treatment phases that focus on the patient’s past, present, and future. This is to break any associations between specific circumstances and symptoms. Each phase helps you deal with emotional distress and trauma, and then learn coping skills for present and future stress.
Phase one: History analysis
The first phase is to get the full history of the patient. This can include painful memories, events or experiences from the past, as well as current problems. Based on this, the therapist will develop a treatment plan that will target specific memories or incidents.
In the beginning, the work may focus on childhood. If you have a specific condition, such as panic disorder, you may be asked for details about panic attacks, anxiety, etc.
Phase Two: Preparations
During this phase, the therapist helps you learn ways to deal with stress and anxiety, such as doing certain mental exercises.
Phases three through six: assessment and desensitization
Phases three through six are usually the main part of therapy. These phases can take place in any order.
- First, the therapist usually asks you to choose one of the goals identified in the first phase. For example, a particular memory that triggers stress.
- They will then ask you to describe the visual image of that memory that the patient has in their head, and how they feel about it, both physically and emotionally.
- The affected person is asked to identify both a negative and a positive self-concept associated with a mental image.
- Then the patient is asked to evaluate both of these beliefs in terms of their truthfulness.
- At this point , EMDR stimulation occurs .
Phase Seven: Closing
The seventh phase is the closing phase. During this phase, the patient and therapist discuss the positive steps that have been taken and how to maintain them on a daily basis.
Phase Eight: Reassessment
The therapist will continue to talk to the patient about progress, look at treatment goals and see how well they have been achieved. At this point, it is also important to determine whether other goals identified in phase one can be addressed.
What does EMDR stimulation look like?
During an EMDR session for panic disorder in stages three through six, the therapist will ask you to recall a selected memory or trauma.
As the patient imagines the memory, as well as evoking negative self-concepts and physical symptoms of the trauma, the therapist will ask them to move their eyes from side to side.
- To help focus on eye movement, the therapist will lift the first three fingers and begin to move them so that the patient’s eyes can follow the hand.
- Instead of eye movements, the patient may be asked to tap their hand or finger, or to put on a headset to focus on the sounds that alternate between the right and left ear.
Once the EMDR stimulation is complete, the therapist will instruct the patient to clear their mind and discuss any perceptions, thoughts, memories, feelings, or images that come to mind.
The therapist will guide the patient through the stimulation again depending on whether he begins to experience positive physical sensations or continues to experience negative ones. Stimulation will be different if the patient is feeling positive because it helps reinforce positive feelings or thoughts. Sessions are repeated until the patient is no longer distressed by the memory or incident.
EMDR therapists often assign homework to help maintain progress between sessions. Examples of homework include:
- The patient may be asked to try a self-help technique that requires imagination to imagine a calm environment;
- Between sessions, image desensitization can be practiced;
- EMDR practitioners also often suggest keeping a diary to keep track of the progress and relaxation techniques the patient is learning.
Effectiveness of EMDR
EMDR is mainly used to overcome the symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This method is also effective in treating other mood and anxiety disorders, including depression, phobias, and panic disorder. EMDR is especially effective in treating panic disorder, panic attacks, and agoraphobia , when past traumatic experiences contribute to present symptoms.
A study published in 2017 that compared the effectiveness of EMDR and behavioral psychotherapy in treating panic disorder symptoms and improving patients’ quality of life found EMDR therapy in London to be as effective as psychotherapy . A review of published research on the effectiveness of EMDR in treating trauma-related symptoms in people with psychosis, depression, bipolar disorder , anxiety disorders, substance use disorders, and chronic back pain found that EMDR improves patients’ quality of life.
Evidence has also been found that EMDR may even help relieve other, non-traumatic symptoms found in mood disorders and may be useful as an additional treatment for people who suffer from chronic