About EMDR

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

EMDR is a psychotherapy treatment developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences. EMDR therapy integrates the elements of many traditional psychological orientations and is based on the adaptive information processing model (AIP). The AIP model hypothesizes that there is an inherent information processing system in the brain that gets blocked when traumatic events occur, causing events to get locked in the brain with the original picture sounds, thoughts, feelings and body sensations.

Whenever a reminder of the traumatic events comes up, these pictures, thoughts, feelings and sensations can continue to be triggered. Though the combination of focus on distressing stimulus and bilateral stimulation to the brain using eye movement from side to side or a device called tappers (small objects that a child can hold in her hand that vibrate and alternate from right to left side) the brain works to heal the emotional wound.  Once the brain is able to digest and reprocess the memories stored in the emotional part of the brain in a more adaptive manner, healing can occur and symptoms decrease or disappear.