Dr Axel Rüdiger Würz
Specialist Psychiatrist in Psychotherapy (UK)
MD, MRCPsych,DiplCBT,DiplClinHyp
Specialist Psychiatrist in Psychotherapy (UK)
MD, MRCPsych,DiplCBT,DiplClinHyp
EMDR
The bad news about EMDR is that it has a long and somewhat confusing name: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy. The founder of EMDR, Francine Shapiro, supposedly admitted that she would name it simply 'Reprocessing Therapy' if she she had the chance to start afresh. The good news about EMDR is that according to good evidence accumulated since the 1980s it is a powerful and safe way to process memories connected to past traumatic events such as car accidents, war events, bullying, violence, emotional and sexual abuse or natural disasters.
It is a structured and respectful approach that facilitates processing of traumatic and emotional memories by inviting them in a safe way while also guiding the brain to focus simultaneously on eye-movements, alternating sounds or gently vibrating sensations on the back of the hands. As unusual as that may sound, it starts to make sense when you recall that the brain appears to process memories of all kinds during sleep in a sleep phase called REM-sleep, or Rapid Eye Movement sleep.
If you suffer from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and/or have come through intensely emotional and traumatic events, EMDR could be a good way for you, as it facilitates processing these past events in a safe and manageable way so that they let go of their impact on your present.
It is a structured and respectful approach that facilitates processing of traumatic and emotional memories by inviting them in a safe way while also guiding the brain to focus simultaneously on eye-movements, alternating sounds or gently vibrating sensations on the back of the hands. As unusual as that may sound, it starts to make sense when you recall that the brain appears to process memories of all kinds during sleep in a sleep phase called REM-sleep, or Rapid Eye Movement sleep.
If you suffer from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and/or have come through intensely emotional and traumatic events, EMDR could be a good way for you, as it facilitates processing these past events in a safe and manageable way so that they let go of their impact on your present.