EMDR therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a scientific therapy, recognized by the World Health Organization for the treatment of trauma, created by Dr. Francine Shapiro, a psychotherapist and neurologist from the USA in 1989.
It is a trauma-focused therapy approach where we work on the emotions that have been “stuck” by certain traumatic experiences with the aim of generating a healthy integration in our brain and the resolution of the wounds caused by trauma.
It is based on the processing of information that the brain does naturally from the experiences we live and that can be blocked in the face of traumatic experiences that the person has experienced and that exceed their threshold of tolerance. These traumatic experiences generate a wound in the patient, which manifests itself in the form of different emotional disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, phobias, among others…
Symptoms appear that are the expression of these badly processed experiences in our brain, such as fears, anxiety, anguish, flashbacks, distrust, isolation, dependent relationships, intrusive thoughts, sadness, self-destructive behaviors, addictions, low self-esteem and a long etc…
In which cases is it necessary?
When we talk about trauma we think of a drastic situation in the life of the person that endangers his life, such as an aggression, an accident, a natural disaster, etc… However, trauma can also be generated by the repetition of traumatic events over time, such as, for example, being humiliated, criticized or unprotected in our childhood, generating an insecure attachment that will affect our self-esteem and our relationships with others in the present, and in the future if these experiences are not processed properly.
Although at first EMDR treatment was created and used to intervene in post-traumatic stress disorders, today it is successfully used in a multitude of psychological problems such as phobias, anxiety disorders, depression, eating disorders, addictions, obsessions, personality disorders, covering most emotional disorders.
It has as an added advantage, apart from its effectiveness, its efficiency that determines that the treatment is effective in less time than with other psychotherapeutic approaches.
How is it done?
The first step in initiating EMDR therapy is for the psychologist to identify the problems that are the object of the treatment and to perform a detailed and personalized evaluation of the events that are at the base of these problems and that have not been processed properly, generating the current difficulties.
A complete clinical history is taken and a time line is created that will serve as a guide and basis for the treatment.
EMDR works with protocols that include a bilateral stimulation phase that can be visual (through eye movements), auditory (through auditory stimulation in both ears) or kinesthetic (through tapping on both hands). The function of this bilateral stimulation is to connect both brain hemispheres, the rational and the emotional, allowing the information related to the traumatic process to be properly processed and integrated, reducing the emotional burden associated with it and allowing the resolution of the associated symptoms.
After EMDR therapy the patient can feel more confident and able to face not only the situation that has generated the traumatic symptomatology, but also his present and future.
How effective is it?
EMDR has been scientifically proven by numerous studies and its use is supported by the WHO and other national and international institutions.
In recent years EMDR therapy has been increasingly used, being the treatment of choice for cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in countries such as Germany, Poland, France, United Kingdom and United States, among others, and extending its use in many other pathologies, conflicts and difficulties with very positive results.