What is EMDR?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. This innovative psychological therapy addresses trauma, anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions resulting from traumatic or adverse life events. EMDR Therapy offers a structured approach that processes past experiences and emotions contributing to current symptoms or life difficulties, aiming to enhance your quality of life in the future.
Is EMDR Therapy evidence-based and best practice?
Absolutely. EMDR Therapy is an evidence-based treatment endorsed by the World Health Organization and approved by Medicare Australia. Qualified mental health professionals who have undergone specialized training provide this therapy, including psychologists and therapists at Sydney City Psychology.
What Happens During an EMDR Session?
In an EMDR session, the therapist will ask you to recall a traumatic event while engaging in some bilateral stimulation task, such as moving your eyes back and forth. These eye movements activate the brain in a way that assists with processing memories that are causing ongoing distress, which may be similar to what happens during REM sleep when your eyes flicker while dreaming.
When you recall a memory, it moves from long-term memory to short-term, or working, memory. By keeping the memory in mind while tracking the therapist’s fingers, your working memory processes a lot of information at once, thereby ‘overloading’ it. As a result, three things usually happen: the memory becomes more distant, emotional distress diminishes, and new, more helpful beliefs about yourself emerge.
Over time, as you process key memories or issues in EMDR Therapy, trauma symptoms are likely to reduce, empowering beliefs about yourself can develop, and your responses and behaviour in the present are likely to change. These changes are profound and la because they address core issues deeply rather than just managing symptoms.
How Many EMDR Therapy Sessions are Required?
EMDR Therapy follows an 8-phase model, and the duration varies based on individual circumstances. Some people need more preparation than others. While some memories resolve in a single session, others may take several sessions. There is no right or wrong duration! You will be awake and in control at all times during an EMDR session and can say ‘stop’ if you feel overwhelmed and need to pause the process. It is not the same thing as being hypnotised.
The Healing Power of EMDR Therapy
Repeated studies show that EMDR therapy can provide the benefits of psychotherapy much more quickly than traditional methods. It is often assumed that severe emotional pain requires a long time to heal, but EMDR therapy demonstrates that the mind can heal from psychological trauma similarly to how the body heals from physical trauma. For example, when you cut your hand, your body naturally works to close the wound. If a foreign object or repeated injury irritates the wound, it festers and causes pain. Once the block is removed, healing resumes.
EMDR therapy shows that a similar sequence of events occurs with mental processes. The brain’s information processing system can naturally move toward mental health. If this system is blocked or imbalanced by the impact of a disturbing event, the emotional wound may fester and cause intense suffering. Once the block is removed, healing may resume.
Using detailed protocols and procedures learned in EMDR therapy training sessions, clinicians help clients activate their natural healing processes, facilitating quicker and more profound recovery from psychological trauma and distress.
Who is it for?
EMDR Therapy was first recognised for use in PTSD. Since then, evidence now supports the use of EMDR in a wide range of mental health issues beyond trauma, including panic attacks, grief, performance anxiety, and eating disorders. It is also effective for all age groups, from children to adults. The Australian Psychological Society (APS) and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) also recognize EMDR as an effective treatment method.
Where can I go to for EMDR or other treatments focussed on trauma and other kinds of psychological distress?
At Sydney City Psychology, we offer online and in-person EMDR therapy, for children and adults. We can even discuss options for EMDR in couples or group work. Our psychologists are trained in EMDR from the accredited Australian EMDR association – EMDRAA.
Contact us today to begin – honest support, so you can live well.
