What is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR stands for Eye-Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing, and is one of the leading trauma treatments.
EMDR is a powerful psychological therapy
EMDR stands for Eye-Movement and Desensitisation Reprocessing. EMDR helps people heal from past disturbing events.
The premise of EMDR is that we are all naturally capable of processing distressing events. Occasionally, events are so overwhelming that natural healing can’t occur. When most people think of trauma, they imagine situations like accidents, medical emergencies or terrorist events. These situations are traumatic, but experiences that cause trauma responses are much broader than this.
Traumatic experiences that I work with include reproductive traumas of miscarriage, stillbirth, birth trauma, and difficulties conceiving. I also work with experiences that we might not automatically consider ‘traumatic’ but have an impact on our body or nervous systems, such as a parent who was dismissive, invalidating, punishing or unpredictable. These early formative experiences typically shape the beliefs we hold about ourselves.
When situations in the present trigger these unprocessed memories this can bring up distressing feelings. We may or may not be consciously aware that this is happening. We might notice typical symptoms of trauma, such as re-experiencing unwanted memories of past events, nightmares, avoiding reminders and feeling permanently on edge. Or we might notice feeling anxious, withdrawing, feeling depressed, or cutting off from our body or the environment (dissociation) without any clear understanding of why. These are understandable ways our body copes with distress but with inadvertent consequences.
EMDR involves identifying the experiences which continue to affect you today and using bilateral stimulation to ‘process’ these earlier events, as our brain naturally knows how to, helping to reduce current distress and improving functioning in the here and now.
EMDR therapy is recommended by numerous organisations, including the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), for treating trauma following birth or a traumatic bereavement, for example. It also has a growing evidence base more widely to help people with anxiety, depression, phobias, grief and mourning.
As an accredited EMDR consultant, it is one of my main therapy approaches. EMDR therapy has transformed my psychological therapy practice; for years as a Clinical Psychologist I taught people how to manage distress. Now, as an EMDR therapist, I’m more equipped to help people heal.
EMDR therapy explained
What to expect with EMDR therapy
When proceeding with EMDR, we will first go through a process of identifying specific experiences and memories from the past that are affecting you now. I will teach you some ways of managing your emotions so we can always put the brakes on during the reprocessing if needed. We will then process these memories using eye movements, tapping or alternate sounds. When there is more than one memory to process, we will agree on a plan for which order to tackle these, taking into account my clinical judgement and your preferences. You might experience ‘lightbulb’ moments in sessions or in between sessions. Alternatively, you might experience a sense of things changing or shifting gradually.
I am experienced in adapting EMDR therapy to help people in the perinatal period, with problems around pregnancy, birth and early parenthood.
EMDR therapy also works online so that you can have sessions from the comfort and convenience of your own home.
You can learn more about EMDR therapy by reading my article ‘EMDR Therapy: Changing the way memories live in us‘. You can also watch this interview with BBC radio presenter Jameela Jamil about her experience of EMDR therapy.
Deciding to have therapy is the most important first step towards looking after your mental health. It can be confusing to know what approach is the right fit. Contact me and I will help you every step of the way.
Dr Miriam Inder – Helping you have Better Beginnings
