EMDR Therapy What is it for?

In the late 1980s, a psychologist in Los Angeles discovered quite by chance, through her own experience, that eye movements similar to those during REM sleep seemed to mitigate the disturbing effect of memories of a strongly negative event in her life. It took almost 20 years before the method gained general acceptance through numerous research studies.

Eye movement therapy 

EMDR therapy is a treatment where, with the help of eye movements or other stimulation (sound, touch), you alternately activate both hemispheres of the brain with a focus on the trauma and the thoughts, feelings and body sensations associated with it. The method seems to suppress the emotional content of strongly unpleasant memories so that processing can take place.

Well-documented effect

Today, EMDR is considered to have such a well-documented effect that it is indicated by the WHO as a first choice in the treatment of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Fourteen controlled studies confirm the effectiveness of the method, and the latest studies show that approximately 85% of people after rape, accidents, losses, natural disasters or war no longer have PTSD after an EMDR treatment.

EMDR is not developed based on a theory. As described, it is rather, similar to penicillin, a chance discovery that formed the starting point for the development of the method. It is yet unclear what particular processes are at play. However, we do know that EMDR seems to provide faster symptom relief than several other investigated methods, and it is also a treatment that is well tolerated, which can be seen in the fact that there tend to be fewer dropouts from an EMDR treatment than is the case for several other treatment methods.

How does EMDR work?

An EMDR treatment normally begins with one or more conversations in order for the therapist to understand the background of the problems and how they affect daily life. This is followed by some preparatory exercises, among other things to determine which memory should be the focus of the work, but also to estimate how disturbing this memory is and what influence the memory has on, among other things, self-image today.

When the preparations are complete, the processing itself begins. A typical EMDR session takes one to one and a half hours. The therapist sits diagonally opposite the person being treated and gives instructions on what to hold in consciousness while the person follows the therapist's fingers moving back and forth. After a while, often half a minute to a minute, the therapist asks the person to stop, take a deep breath and describe what thoughts, feelings or images come to mind. Usually the therapist then asks the person to focus on this and a new series of eye movements begins. The process continues in this way until a change in the thoughts, feelings or memories can be noted, and when a positive change is noted, this is processed with new eye movements.

In general, the therapist already notices after one or a couple of treatment sessions if the method works for a person. However, it is difficult to determine in advance how long an EMDR treatment will take. Sometimes sufficient symptom relief is achieved after just a few sessions, but sometimes EMDR becomes an element used to process certain issues in a longer therapy that can last for several months.