Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

What it is, What it does

On June 21, 1994, Alice thought that her life was over. It was on this day, that she was raped while going to work. Alice felt that after this Tuesday, she would not be able to ever go to work, or be intimate with her husband again. About a year latter Alice came to see me with her husband, convinced that she was doomed to always be in psychic pain. Because of a spot she saw on ABC's 20/20, she felt that as a last hope, she would give the treatment a try. After seeing me for a total of 10 sessions (6 of which were sessions in which EMDR was used), she was able to look for and get a new job, and for the first time since the incident, she was able to have sexual contact with her husband without intrusive thoughts of the rape.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a therapeutic process which will clear troubling emotions and negative thinking linked to trauma and other painful past experiences. Some people have said that EMDR helped them more in one session than other therapies had in years. During an EMDR session the patient combines the focusing on a memory and moving one's eyes while following the therapist's fingers or an object that is used to focus on. The patient will be aware of the feelings and thoughts connected to the memory while simultaneously making the rapid eye movements. As the processing starts, the target memory begins to change. It can become more complete, with an increase in the emotional content or intensity. Or the memory may fade. In other cases, just the feelings fade with no memory at all. Regardless of how EMDR proceeds, the unpleasant feelings and negative thinking fade and are replaced by more positive feeling and thinking.

How can EMDR Help Me?

The studies to date show a high degree of effectiveness with the following conditions:
  • Fears
  • Depression related to trauma
  • Surviving childhood abuse
  • Performance and test anxiety
  • Sexual abuse and/or physical abuse
  • Anxiety or panic attacks
  • Surviving an assault or robbery
  • Surviving a rape
  • Witnessing violence
  • Loss or injury of a loved one
  • Childhood trauma
  • Rage attacks
  • Surviving an accident
  • Overwhelming fears
  • Low self-esteem

What Experts are saying:

  • "This has all the indications of being a major new resource in behavior therapy." Joseph Wolpe, MD., Originator of Systematic Desensitization
  • "The first seven years of experience with EMDR has shown that it can be a very effective treatment model of PTSD." Bessel A. van der Kolk, Phd
  • "EMDR is by far the most effective and efficient treatment we have ever used with dissociative episodes, intrusive memories, and nightmares with Vietnam combat veterans." Howard Lipke, Ph.D., Former Director, Stress Disorder Treatment Unit, North Chicago Veterans Administration Medical Center..
  • "EMDR is a new and exciting treatment method which is now assisting people with a wide range of psychological problems. It is also bound to be a breakthrough in our understanding of the neurological basis of mental processes." Robyn Robinson, Ph.D., Director of Trauma Support Consultants, Founding President, Australasian Critical Incident Stress Association, Melbourne, Australia.
  • "EMDR is a powerful tool for the treatment of traumatic stress reactions including PTSD. It has been utilized with remarkable effects in both the acute and prolonged versions of traumatic stress." Jeffrey Mitchell, Ph.D., President, International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, Ellicot City, Maryland, USA.
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    A success story

    Barry first suggested EMDR explaining that it could help me break my blocks fast. Initially, I was skeptical of such sudden change. However, immediately after my first EMDR session I began to feel tremendous positive change and a genuine boost in my self esteem. As a result I was able to trust my feelings and make better decisions by listening to my gut. EMDR is painless and effective. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in making real progress quickly.

    Celine Ruben-Salama

     

    For more information about EMDR go to my EMDR website or Call:

    Barry Herbach, LCSW

    Level II EMDR Clinician with over 12 years experience using the process

    212-229-7451

     

    Copyright © 2007 Barry Herbach, LCSW