About EMDR

EMDR is used to treat troubling symptoms such as anxiety, depression, guilt, anger, and post traumatic reactions. It can also be used to enhance emotional resources such as confidence and self-esteem.

EMDR has been successful with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), phantom limb pain, trauma, childhood wounds, including abuse, irrational thoughts, fears, phobias, and anxiety. Yet EMDR is relatively new and we are still learning about the limits of its effectiveness. Currently, the use of EMDR with chronic pain, asthma, and learning disabilities is being explored.

While we are not sure of the physiological basis of EMDR, we are postulating a theory. If you were to cut yourself, your body would heal naturally, unless bacteria infected the wound. Perhaps the mind also has a method for self-healing during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep. During the night, the mind processes the events of the day, sorting out the irrational or useless information, resolving experiences, and storing it in the appropriate place in memory. When we are traumatized, the event is "frozen" in the mind, unable to be processed and resolved naturally, and the mind stays on "Red Alert". The result is upsetting thoughts and symptoms, as well as emotional distress.

EMDR facilitates healing by helping people to connect to their own adaptive information processing system.

See the EMDR Institute's Efficacy page and also a News clip (or the text version) about PTSD and EMDR or read the page of text.