EMDR
Integrate the brain.
Process the distress.
Feel the difference.
EMDR integrates the brain with bilateral stimulation, allowing you to process symptoms of anxiety, depression, and traumatic stress.
"EMDR is a powerful tool to counteract anxiety and help heal painful past memories. The focus of EMDR is the resolution of emotional distress arising from difficult childhood memories, or traumatic events such as automobile accidents, assaults, natural disasters, and combat trauma. We have seen it be very helpful for anxiety reduction and performance enhancement. An analysis of fifty-nine studies of PTSD indicated that EMDR treatment time was three times shorter than behavior therapy. EMDR is one of the most rapid and effective treatments we have ever personally seen as psychiatrists.” ~Daniel Amen, M.D.
"We believe that EMDR induces a fundamental change in brain circuitry similar to what happens in REM sleep--that allows the person undergoing treatment to more effectively process and incorporate traumatic memories into general association networks in the brain. This helps the individual integrate and understand the memories within the larger context of his or her life experience." ~Robert Stickgold, Ph.D. Harvard Medical School
"The speed at which change occurs during EMDR contradicts the traditional notion of time as essential for psychological healing. EMDR uses elements from many different schools of psychotherapy into its protocols, making EMDR applicable to a variety of clinical populations.”~Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. Professor of Psychiatry Boston University School of Medicine
"A study comparing the effectiveness of Prozac vs. EMDR showed that EMDR was more successful than Prozac in achieving substantial and sustained reductions in anxiety and depression." ~The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, January 2007
EMDR has been endorsed by the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.
For information on EMDR, please visit: EMDR International Association or The EMDR Institute, Inc..
“The past affects the present even without our being aware of it."
“I also discovered that other forms of side-to-side movement besides the eyes could be effective. Therapists could also use taps alternating from hand to hand or tones played from one ear to the other.”
“So, if I had to do it over again, I’d simply call it Reprocessing Therapy. But now Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing—more commonly called EMDR—is known worldwide, so it’s too late for a name change."
“Changing the memories that form the way we see ourselves also changes the way we view others. Therefore, our relationships, job performance, what we are willing to do or are able to resist, all move in a positive direction.”
― Francine Shapiro, Getting Past Your Past: Take Control of Your Life with Self-Help Techniques from EMDR Therapy
I usually use the Tac/Audio Scan from NeuroTek for EMDR in sessions.