What is EMDR Therapy?
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) integrates some principles from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) with various bilateral movements.
The process called dual stimulation involves recalling stressful or unresolved trauma while the individual is focusing on rhythmic or left and right simulations such as eye movements, auditory cues, and taps to facilitate positive and self-chosen beliefs. More specifically, the individual focuses on the traumatic memories and associated emotions while tracking the therapist’s moving finger as the individual’s eyes move back and forth across their field of vision.
Generally, the use of EMDR therapy is to process the past traumatic memories that cause the present problem. In EMDR parlance, processing does not mean talking about it; it means setting up a learning state that allows those memories to be stored appropriately in your brain. EMDR works by helping individuals discard inappropriate emotions, beliefs, and body sensations and store helpful ones to guide them in positive ways in the future.