EMDR is an acronym for ‘Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing’. EMDR is a powerful psychological treatment method that was developed by an American clinical psychologist, Dr Francine Shapiro, in the 1980s. As a Senior Research Fellow at the Mental Research Institute, she published the first research data to support the benefits of the therapy in 1989.

Traumatic events are common, and most people will experience at least one during their lives. For the majority of the time your body manages new information and experiences without you being aware of it, usually during REM sleep and most people recover with the help of family and friends, but there are effective treatments for those needing extra support.

EMDR enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences.  EMDR therapy shows that the mind can in fact heal from psychological trauma much as the body recovers from physical trauma.  EMDR aids the natural healing process, removing any blocks to the processing of trauma memories by activating the brain’s information processing system.  Once the block is removed, healing resumes. Using the detailed protocols and procedures learned in EMDR therapy training sessions, clinicians help clients activate their natural healing processes.

Recommended in the NICE guidelines for the treatment of trauma, sessions last between 60 and 90 minutes and the number of sessions needed varies, depending upon the severity of the problem.