EMDR
Psychotherapy
“Healing means accepting all parts of ourselves, not just the parts we like, but all of us”
Louise Hay
About EMDR
EMDR - Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing - is an integrative, client-centred psychotherapy. EMDR originated by Dr Francine Shapiro in the late 80's. Dr Shapiro found that eye movements with other treatment elements desensitised traumatic memories, Dr Shapiro believed that the purpose of EMDR is to help people live a more adaptive life.
EMDR helps people deal with the impact and legacy of trauma. Dr Shapiro suggested the past effects the present even without our being aware of it. When we experience adverse life events the memory of these events can be stuck, frozen in our nervous system, unprocessed, creating triggers, disturbance and distress because the memory is not adequately processed and integrated into adaptive memory.
These unprocessed memories effect how we perceive things, they effect decisions we make, reactions we have, and beliefs we hold about ourselves. They contain the emotions, thoughts, images, beliefs and physical sensations that occurred at the time of the event.
EMDR restores the communication from the body to the brain. I work with clients to safely reprocess memories opening new neural adaptive pathways until the memory has become adaptive, lessoning distress and disturbance, creating new beliefs and ways of being. The use of eye movements liberates the brain to heal itself. EMDR works with the heart, the head and the body.
EMDR is an evidence based treatment for PTSD and Complex PTSD. The World Health Organization (WHO, 2013) and the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ITSS, 2019) both recommend EMDR therapy as one of the treatments for adults and children with PTSD. It is also recognised in Australia as a Level I evidence-based psychological intervention for PTSD in adults.
EMDR therapy follows standardised procedures, working at a pace that is safe for the client. Preparing a foundation of safety and trust in the therapeutic relationship, empowering the client to learn how to regulate their body so information can be processed. EMDR therapy is an empowering technique for clients as they take control to resolve their trauma.
When working with my clients who have complex presentations from their trauma history, I work from an understanding and framework of structural disassociation.
"When traumatic memories are properly processed, the brain replaces old, outdated circuits, with new, healthy circuits". Every Memory Deserves Respect, page 170.
Dr Shaprio founded the EMDR Institute to establish standards for training and practice and to educate and teach health professionals on the protocols of this therapy. I am an EMDR Institute trained practitioner and practice EMDR therapy.
I am an accredited EMDR practitioner and a Member of EMDRAA and EMDRIA.
Our memories, even fragments of memories are clues, like a trail of bread crumbs, they might be incomplete or confusing at first, but if we have the courage to face the ones that scare us the most, they can lead to discovering that will free us.
Our memories are the caretakers of truth in our lives and every memory deserves respect.
Michael Badlwin,
Every Memory Deserves Respect.