If you’ve heard the term EMDR and found yourself wondering what on earth it means, you’re not alone. It’s one of those therapy abbreviations that sounds complicated but describes something that is surprisingly gentle and remarkably effective.
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing.
What is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR is a structured therapy approach originally developed in the late 1980s to help people process traumatic memories and experiences. It has since been extensively researched and is now recommended by the NHS and the World Health Organisation as an effective treatment for trauma and PTSD. At its core, EMDR works on a simple but powerful premise, that the brain has a natural ability to heal from psychological distress, much in the same way the body heals from physical injury. Sometimes traumatic or deeply distressing experiences get stuck and rather than being processed and filed away as memories, they remain raw and unresolved continuing to affect how we think, feel and behave long after the event itself has passed. EMDR helps the brain complete that unfinished processing.
How Does EMDR Work?
During an EMDR session, you’ll be guided to focus briefly on a distressing memory or experience while simultaneously engaging in what’s known as bilateral stimulation, most commonly this is following the therapist’s finger as it moves back and forth across your field of vision. This back and forth eye movement mimics what happens naturally during REM sleep so the stage of sleep during which the brain processes and files away the day’s experiences. By recreating this process in a safe, supported environment, EMDR helps the brain do what it was always trying to do which was make sense of what happened and move forward from it. Over the course of treatment, memories that once felt overwhelming tend to lose their emotional charge. They don’t disappear but they soften and they begin to feel like something that happened rather than something that is still happening.
What Can EMDR Help With?
EMDR was originally developed to treat PTSD and trauma, and it remains highly effective for this. However its applications have broadened considerably over the years. At Melanie Cook Hypnotherapy, EMDR is used to support:
- Trauma and PTSD
- Anxiety and panic
- Phobias
- Grief
- Low self-esteem and negative core beliefs
- Overwhelming emotional triggers
How is EMDR Different From Hypnotherapy?
The honest answer is that the two approaches complement each other beautifully. Hypnotherapy is forward focused and works with the subconscious mind to create positive change, build new thought patterns and support the brain’s natural REM process. EMDR works more specifically with the processing of past experiences and trauma. It doesn’t require you to talk about events in detail which many clients find enormously relieving. Used together as I often do with clients, the two approaches create a powerful and holistic pathway to healing. EMDR clears what has been stuck and solution-focused hypnotherapy builds what comes next.
Who is EMDR Suitable For?
EMDR is suitable for adults and young people. It can be particularly helpful if you have tried other forms of therapy and found that talking in depth about past events feels retraumatising rather than helpful because EMDR doesn’t require detailed verbal recounting of experiences. It is also a good fit if you find yourself reacting to current situations in ways that feel disproportionate or out of character, if you have specific triggers that are affecting your daily life or if you are carrying grief, trauma or distressing memories that feel unresolved.
EMDR Therapy in Bath
I offer EMDR therapy at my practice rooms in Bath and Midsomer Norton and online via Zoom for those who prefer to work from home.
EMDR is always delivered within a solution-focused framework meaning that from the very first session, we are working not just to process the past but to build a clearer, calmer and more fulfilling future.
If you’d like to find out more or book an initial consultation, I’d love to hear from you.
👉 Book here or get in touch
Healing space and time for body and mind…