Unlike other treatments that focus on directly altering the emotions, thoughts, and responses resulting from traumatic experiences, EMDR therapy focuses directly on the memory and is intended to change the way the memory is stored in the brain, thus reducing and eliminating the problematic symptoms.

EMDR brings back the trauma of the memory and applies techniques to allow the brain to bring in additional information that the client knows now because the trauma is over. These could be things like the fact that they are safe now, that they survived, that they are not in a state of danger anymore, and even that they realize the event was not their fault and they are not to blame for the rape or assault or whatever it is that they experienced.

EMDR therapy is well-suited for individuals who have experienced various forms of trauma, whether from a single distressing event or a series of accumulated negative experiences. Trauma can take many forms, including physical or emotional abuse, bullying, accidents, combat experiences, natural disasters, or the sudden loss of a loved one. In addition, even those who have experienced long-standing emotional neglect or witnessed traumatic events may benefit from EMDR therapy.

While not everyone who experiences trauma will go on to develop PTSD, for those struggling with intrusive thoughts, hypervigilance, nightmares, and other symptoms that often disrupt daily life, EMDR therapy has been shown to be an effective and time-efficient treatment.  EMDR is not just for those who have experienced a recent trauma—it can benefit those who have carried the weight of traumatic memories for years or even decades

EMDR therapy does not require talking in detail about a distressing issue.  Instead, it focuses on changing the emotions, thoughts or behaviours that result from a distressing experience (trauma). This allows the brain to resume a natural healing process. While many people use the words “mind” and “brain” when referring to the same thing, they are actually different. Your brain is an organ of your body. Your mind is the collection of thoughts, memories, beliefs and experiences that make you who you are.

The way the mind works relies on the structure of the brain. That structure involves networks of communicating brain cells across many different areas. This is especially the case with sections that involve the memories and senses, utilising networking makes it faster and easier for those areas to work together. That is why the senses — sights, sounds, smells, tastes and feels — can bring back strong memories.

When undergoing EMDR, memories of a trauma event are accessed in very specific ways. Combined with eye movements and guided instructions, accessing those memories helps the individual reprocess what is remembered from the negative event.  That reprocessing helps “repair” the mental injury from that memory. By remembering what has happened will no longer feel like reliving it, and the related feelings will be much more manageable.

What conditions and problems can EMDR treat?

The most widespread use of EMDR is for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

It can also be used in the treatment of the following conditions:

• Anxiety
• Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
• Panic disorder
• Abuse
• Phobias
• Social anxiety
• Depression
• Eating disorders:
  • Anorexia nervosa
  • Bulimia nervosa
  • Binge-eating
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Body dysmorphia

The goal of EMDR is to allow the person to achieve a healthier state of emotional and mental health – they should be able to recall or discuss the event without having a response that results in a debilitating reaction.

One of the things many people really like about EMDR is that you do not need to talk about the trauma.  People undergoing treatment are asked initially to only think about their traumatic experiences during a session – there is no requirement to discuss them.  Given the reluctance and fear of many trauma survivors to talk about the details of their experience, this can be a hugely important benefit of EMDR over other treatment options.

When a person is involved in a traumatic event, they may feel overwhelmed and their brain may be unable to fully process what is going on. The memory of the event seems to have become “stuck” so that it remains very intense and vivid. The person can re-experience what they saw, heard and smelt and the full force of the distress they felt whenever the memory comes to mind.  EMDR aims to help the brain “unstick” and reprocess the memory properly so that it is no longer so intense. It also helps to desensitise the person to the emotional impact of the memory, so that they can think about the event without experiencing such strong feelings.