Treatment of patients traumatized by painful memories can be
a lengthy process. Fortunately, the introduction of eye movement
desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy has dramatically reduced the
time required to assist patients in processing trauma and moving forward to
emotional recovery.
EMDR therapy is based on the results of years of credible
research and is approved as therapeutic for treating traumatized patients by
such organizations as the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Therapists trained in EMDR techniques lead their patients
through remembering the traumatic event and then allowing the mind to reframe
it in a healthy, positive way. As this multi-step process is being followed, the
patient is also taught eye movement techniques that encourage the release of
the painful memories being stored in the memory areas of the brain.
The above is a very simple explanation for a complex process
that occurs within the brain. To better understand the startling success rate
of EMDR therapy, consider that during dreaming, when the brain is processing
old memories and recent events, the eyes are in constant movement known as REM
(rapid eye movement.) The development of EMDR is, in some ways, an extension of
that natural process.
Careful training is required for clinicians to assist the
person suffering from the after effects of trauma to break free from
destructive behaviors, depression, frozen emotions, and anxiety. The careful
coordination of eye movements (or in some cases other stimuli) with this
process is crucial. For that reason, this training is restricted to licensed medical
or social work professionals with advanced education in the provision of mental
health services.
From the patient’s viewpoint, EMDR therapy can allow them to
make great strides in a shorter time period. With proper preparation and
guidance, they can recall the painful events triggering their emotional
disturbance and then learn to see them in a different way. The gentle,
non-invasive relief that EMDR offers can release them from the troubling
symptoms that caused them to seek help in the first place.
EMDR therapy has been beneficial to thousands of patients in
relieving the long-term effects of trauma. It does not involve medication and
is practiced by well-trained, licensed professionals. The significance of the
mind/body connection that is the basis for this form of treatment is still
being explored and may offer hope for even more forms of emotional dysfunction
in the future.
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