EMDR - Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing 👁

Therapy needs to be tailored to YOUR individual needs. Is EMDR right for you? 👀

❌A common misconception shared by many people is that psychological therapy is a “one size fits all” approach. This is not true❌. There is a wide selection of different psychological therapies available. This is because different mental health disorders require different forms of treatment, just the same as how different physical health disorders require different forms of treatment. As humans, we also have individual differences that need to be taken into account. A form of therapy that results in a significant positive change for one person may produce reduced effects for another person, despite them both experiencing the same mental health disorder. This can be because of their individual differences.

👆It is important you know this because …

👉 If you have received therapy in the past and you didn’t see an improvement, you may be under the impression that therapy as a whole doesn’t work for you. However, it is not psychological therapy that doesn’t work for you, instead, that particular form of therapy is not what was best suited to you. 👉 If you know somebody experiencing similar problems to you, you may think you need the same treatment as them and this might not be the case.

✅ Therapy can work for everyone. It is all about finding the form of therapy that suits you, your needs, and your desired outcome👏.

In today’s piece, we are going to be exploring EMDR. I can’t express how excited I was when I found out that HAPPIO will be offering this form of therapy to you! I have conducted a lot of research into trauma and the long-term psychological, physiological and social effects on the person who experienced trauma. So, as someone aware of how trauma can adversely impact someone's life, I am so passionate about EMDR because it has the potential to help individuals affected by trauma heal 🙌. Most importantly, I have also seen first-hand the positive changes that EMDR can have on someone’s life✨.

Please don’t assume my somewhat raving review of EMDR is biased. In the United Kingdom, there are guidelines set out for health professionals to follow to help determine what treatment to implement for different disorders. EMDR is a recommended psychological intervention for the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (a disorder caused by witnessing/experiencing trauma) by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (2018) ✅.

✍️ If you have experienced any form of trauma then I seriously recommend you consider whether EMDR is something you might be interested in engaging with. EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. This form of therapy was developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro.

✍️Is EMDR suitable for you? 👉 If you have experienced any form of trauma that you feel is something you need to further heal from to be able to live your best life, then EMDR could be suitable for you!

👉EMDR can also help with problems other than trauma, it has been reported to help in the treatment of: 🔷Phobias 🔷Addictions 🔷Grief 🔷Panic Attacks 🔷Personality Disorders 🔷Performance Anxiety 🔷Stress Reduction 🔷Body Dysmorphic Disorders 🔷Disturbing Memories 🔷Pain Disorders (EMDR Foundation 2022)

✍️ How does EMDR work? 👉 EMDR is not the most straightforward therapy for people to understand. It can be quite tricky to get your head around. It is a therapy that gets you to briefly focus your attention on the memory/event that you would like help with while at the same time you are experiencing bilateral stimulation which is usually in the form of eye movements.

👉 When I am asked about it, I like to explain it like this .. Imagine your brain as a big filing system, with lots of different areas for different files. When you experience something traumatic, your brain wants to support you and it wants to protect you the best that it can. So, your brain takes the “traumatic memory file” and stores it away as quickly as it can. Your brain thinks by storing it away quickly that it’s being super helpful. But the thing is, your brain has rushed and it hasn’t stored it away properly. So, the “traumatic memory file” keeps causing problems. EMDR helps you correctly store the “traumatic memory file” where it belongs, so it doesn’t cause you such intense problems.

👉 EMDR has eight different phases that you will work through together with your therapist, these include: ❇️History Taking and Treatment Planning – This involves you working together with your therapist to determine your treatment targets. Your treatment targets will include your past memory. However, unlike other therapies that aim to treat trauma with EMDR do not need to talk in-depth about your trauma with your therapist (which can be incredibly difficult for some people) for the therapy to work. Your treatment targets will also include your present triggers and your future goals. ❇️Preparation – This involves the therapist explaining how EMDR works and practicing the chosen technique with you either eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation such as tapping. The therapist will also use this stage to make sure that if any negative feelings arose that you are equipped with managing them. ❇️Assessment – The therapist will then identify and assess each traumatic memory component (image, cognition, affect, and body sensation). You will decide on a statement that you feel expresses the negative self-belief you have associated with the memory. ❇️Desensitization – This involves you thinking about the traumatic memory while you are also engaging in specific eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation. This phase is repeated until the memory is no longer causing you distress. ❇️Installation - This involves strengthening a positive belief to replace the previously determined negative belief you identified in phase three. For example, if you experienced something that caused you to feel unsafe as a child, your new positive belief could be “I am an adult now and I am safe”. ❇️Body Scan – This phase involves observing your body's response to thinking about the event you have been working through. EMDR is only considered successful when you can think about what you have been working through without experiencing physical symptoms of stress. ❇️Closure – This is where the session is ended and if the memory was not fully processed you will be provided with techniques to ensure your wellbeing until the next session. ❇️ Re-Evaluation – The next session begins at this stage where your therapist will evaluate how you have been doing, your mental well-being if the effects of the treatment have been maintained, and the targets for the present session. (American Psychological Association 2022)

✍️ Is there evidence that EMDR works? 👉 EMDR is an evidence-based treatment for PTSD. For a treatment to be able to be called evidence-based, it means that extensive studies and research have been conducted and it has been concluded by many researchers that the treatment is effective and is backed by scientific evidence👩‍🔬👨🏾‍🔬.

Happio is here to help YOU heal. We are so excited to be able to help you on your journey. We want you to heal, we want you to live your best life, and we are here for you! 🤗