Is EMDR for you? – EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, it is a form of psychotherapy and is often used alongside traditional talking therapies. EMDR is helpful with many kinds of issues including abuse, experiencing a traumatic event, assault, war related experiences, natural disasters, surgical trauma, road traffic accidents, workplace accidents, depression anxiety, domestic violence, and grief.
When a person experiences something traumatic, often they may feel overwhelmed. When our brain’s are overwhelmed by our circumstances they don’t fully process what is going on. This can mean that the memory of an event may get “stuck” in a person’s mind this memory can stay very vivid and intense. The person feels like they are reliving the experience and the distress they felt at the time, over and over again. It’s like a person has become stuck reading the same page in book over and over and they aren’t able to turn the page.
EMDR helps the person to turn the page, unstick the memory and reprocess what happened so it isn’t as intense. It also helps the person to reduce the emotional impact of the memory, so that when they do think about it the feelings are not as intense and strong.
There are a number of articles on this website where you can read more about how EMDR works and what will happen in an EMDR session. You can find links to them here.
- EMDR – Effective Trauma Based Therapy
- EMDR Support for Abuse
- The Eight Phases of EMDR
- Birmingham and Kingswinford EMDR – for Trauma and PTSD
- Counselling & EMDR Support with Abuse
- What Happens in an EMDR Session?
- EMDR- What issues can EMDR Help With?
There are also a number of resources on the internet that offer information:
NHS – PTSD Treatment – www.nhs.uk/conditions/ptsd/treatment/
The International EMDR Association has a useful Introduction Video.
The EMDR Association has more information about the research that has been carried out into EMDR how it works.
The EMDR International Association has a useful video on Experiencing EMDR Therapy
Paul Carter is able to offer EMDR online or in person For more information about Paul please take a look at the About Paul Page, and The Counselling Services Page. EMDR can be delivered alongside counselling, if you would like to speak to Paul about how he can help you please contact him today for a short initial conversation. For more information about costs please see the Frequently Asked Questions Page.
If you feel that you would like to speak to someone about difficulties you are having, you might find speaking to a therapist helpful. Paul offers Psychotherapy and counselling, EMDR and Clinical Supervision. If you are struggling with any issue and would like to make an appointment with Paul please call Paul on 07843 813 537 or fill in the form on the Contact Page, if he doesn’t answer he is probably in a session, please leave him a message and he will call you back as soon as he can.
