EMDR Trauma Treatment : Intensive Workshops
© Anna Drijver for Auckland Therapy Blog, 2 April 2018.
What is EMDR?
The mind can often heal itself naturally, in the same way as the body does. Much of this natural coping mechanism occurs during sleep, particularly during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Francine Shapiro developed Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) in 1987, utilising this natural process in order to successfully treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Since then, EMDR has been used to effectively treat a wide range of mental health problems.
How EMDR works
The brain’s information processing system naturally moves toward mental health. If the system is blocked or imbalanced by the impact of a disturbing event, the emotional wound festers and can cause intense suffering. Once the block is removed, healing resumes.
EMDR clinicians help clients activate their natural healing processes. Unlike talk therapy, the insights clients gain in EMDR therapy result not so much from clinician interpretation, but from the client’s own accelerated intellectual and emotional processes. The net effect is that clients conclude EMDR therapy feeling empowered by the very experiences that once debased them. Their wounds have not just closed, they have transformed.
Goals of EMDR
- Releasing you from dysfunctional ties to the past, so that adaptive responses are possible in the present
- Reprocessing disturbing memories using eye movements to achieve a more adaptive and functional resolution
- Simultaneous desensitisation and cognitive restructuring of memories
- Elicitation of spontaneous insights
- Increase in self-efficacy
Can anyone benefit from EMDR?
EMDR can accelerate therapy by resolving the impact of your past traumas and allowing you to live more fully in the present. It is not, however, appropriate for everyone. The process is rapid and you need to be aware and willing to experience the strong feelings and disturbing thoughts which occur at times during session.
Symptoms that are often significantly relieved include: flashbacks, nightmares, somatic arousal, distress and anxiety associated with traumatic memories, sleep disturbance. Resolution of trauma can improve self-esteem, mood, and levels of trust in others.
EMDR Workshops
Treatment Modules
Module 1 Date: 5th May + 19th May 2018
Module 2 Date: 15th - 17th June 2018
See EMDR Workshops brochure for further details.
NB : The May workshops have been postponed till later in the year - Please contact Anna for details or one-on-one treatment.