EMDR Therapy
Are your past experiences impacting your mental health and well-being? Do you need help processing the negative emotions and beliefs associated with past traumas? If so, Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy could be exactly what you need.
What is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR is an effective and unique therapeutic approach that helps people to heal from the emotional distress and consequent effects of traumatic events and disturbing experiences in their lives.
In many cases, past traumatic events can be intense and become ‘stuck’ in people’s brains. It aims to reprocess memories of traumatic events and make the emotional impact of these memories less acute.
In order to do this, EMDR therapy asks the person to recall the traumatic events whilst they do the following:
- Move their eyes from side to side
- Hear a sound in each ear alternately
- Feel a tap on each hand alternately
Performing these three actions aims to modify the processing system in the brain, helping to reduce the intensity of the impact of trauma. New processes and information will be imprinted as a new memory.
EMDR therapy works in a similar way to natural Rapid Eye Movement (REM) during sleep. REM causes your eyes to move from side to side as they process the events of the day. By giving the brain ‘something else’ to do whilst processing events, it can help to make the events less vivid. This allows the person to distance themselves from it healthily.
What can EMDR therapy help with?
The most common use of EMDR therapy is in helping with Post Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD). More specifically, it can be used to help with the following issues:
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- Depression
- Anxiety
- Sexual or emotional abuse
- Emotional recovery from accidents
- Trauma
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Bullying
- Bereavement
- Loss
Does EMDR therapy work?
Studies have been undertaken on this issue, and they have shown that EMDR therapy can significantly decrease PTSD-related issues and symptoms in just a few sessions. The number of sessions required in a programme of EMDR therapy can be more if the individual has experienced a series of traumatic events.
An internationally recognized therapy. It is endorsed by a number of renowned bodies, including the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the World Health Organisation, The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies and the National Health Service in the UK. There are currently over 10,000 therapists in the UK qualified to deliver EMDR therapy, including a number of therapists at the Leone Centre.
EMDR therapy at the Leone Centre
Here, at the Leone Centre in London, we offer a team of experienced therapists who offer passionate and experienced counselling services that take an integrative approach to a wide range of issues.
EMDR therapy can be either integrated into your counselling therapeutic process or worked with as a focused and main approach.
If you have any questions or wish to make an appointment with the Leone Centre’s experienced EMDR practitioners, please get in touch, and we can explain how we can help.
Leone Centre EMDR therapy, together with individual, couples and family services, is available in person at our centres in Fulham, Kensington and online.
Please let us know your individual requirements, and we will support you in finding a suitable solution. Book an initial consultation by calling one of our centres on 020 3930 1007 or book online today.
EMDR FAQs
What is EMDR?
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a type of therapy carried out for mental health treatment. This method involves moving the eyes in a specific way while processing traumatic memories. EMDR therapy has a long-term goal of helping someone to heal from past trauma or other distressing life experiences.
Have you got EMDR therapists at Leone Centre?
Yes. Our experienced EMDR therapists include Lynn Buckley and Lina Kaas. Both therapists practise EMDR therapy to treat mental health issues such as PTSD, anxiety, chronic stress, eating disorders, and traumatic past events.
What is the difference between EMDR and Brainspotting?
Both EMDR and Brainspotting therapies practise using eyes and eye movements.
EMDR involves the client being guided to move their eyes from side to side whilst processing thoughts and memories.
Brainspotting pays special attention to specific locations where the client’s eyes automatically go whilst pinpointing issues and physical feelings.
I am not sure if I have PTSD. Can I still try EMDR?
Our trained therapists can talk through issues and feelings a person may be experiencing to provide support and decipher whether the client is, in fact, experiencing symptoms of PTSD.
EMDR is a psychological treatment that’s been found to be a successful method in reducing symptoms of PTSD – Upsetting memories, thoughts, and feelings related to trauma.
Citations
EMDR therapy: An overview of its development and mechanisms of action IFEM DR
