Archive for the ‘EMDR’ Category

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing?

The mind has a fantastic ability to heal itself naturally, in the same way as the body does and when significant events occur in our life to make sense of them we will generally

• - talk about them,
• - think about them and
• - dream about them.

Much of this natural coping mechanism occurs during sleep, particularly during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Francine Shapiro developed Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) in 1987, utilising this natural process in order to successfully treat Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Since then, EMDR has been used to effectively treat a wide range of mental health problems.

 

What happens when you are traumatised?

Generally your body routinely manages new information and experiences in your subconscious mind without you being aware of it. However, when something out of the ordinary occurs and you are severely distressed by an overwhelming event (e.g. a car accident) or by being repeatedly subjected to suffering (e.g. childhood neglect), your natural coping mechanism can become overloaded.

This overloading can result in disturbing experiences remaining frozen in your brain or being “unprocessed”. Such unprocessed memories and feelings are stored in the limbic system of your brain in a “raw” and emotional form, rather than in a verbal “story” mode. This limbic system maintains traumatic memories in an isolated memory network that is associated with emotions and physical sensations, and which are disconnected from the brain’s cortex where we use language to store memories. The limbic system’s traumatic memories can be continually triggered when you experience events similar to the difficult experiences you have been through.

Often the memory itself is long forgotten, but the painful feelings such as anxiety, panic, anger or despair are continually triggered in the present. Your ability to live in the present and learn from new experiences can therefore become inhibited. EMDR helps create the connections between your brain’s memory networks, enabling your brain to process the traumatic memory in a very natural way.

What is an EMDR session like?

EMDR utilises the natural healing ability of your body. After a thorough assessment, you will be asked specific questions about a particular disturbing memory. Eye movements, similar to those during REM sleep, will be recreated simply by asking you to watch the therapist’s finger moving backwards and forwards across your visual field. The eye movements will last for a short while and then stop. You will then be asked to report back on the experiences you have had during each of these sets of eye movements. Experiences during a session may include changes in thoughts, images and feelings.  Hand tapping may also be used and the therapist will be able to gauge which is more appropriate.

With repeated sets of eye movements, the memory tends to change in such a way that it loses its painful intensity and simply becomes a neutral memory of an event in the past. It can break down other connected memories as well and other associated memories may also heal at the same time. This linking of related memories can lead to a dramatic and rapid improvement in many aspects of your life.

What can EMDR be used for?

In addition to its use for the treatment of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, EMDR has been successfully used to treat:

1. - anxiety and panic attacks
2. - depression
3. - stress
4. - phobias
5. - sleep problems
6. - complicated grief
7. - addictions, drugs, smoking, alcohol
8. - pain relief, phantom limb pain
9. - self-esteem and performance improvement

Can anyone benefit from EMDR?

EMDR can accelerate therapy by resolving the impact of your past traumas and allowing you to live more fully in the present. It is not, however, appropriate for everyone. The process is rapid, and any disturbing experiences, if they occur at all, last for a comparatively short period of time. Nevertheless, you need to be aware of, and willing to experience, the strong feelings and disturbing thoughts, which sometimes occur during sessions prior to being resolved.  Your therapist is there to support you through this.

How long does treatment take?

EMDR can be brief focused treatment or part of a longer psychotherapy programme. EMDR sessions can be for 45 to 75 minutes.

Will I will remain in control and empowered?

During EMDR treatment, you will remain in control, fully alert and wide-awake. This is not a form of hypnosis and you can stop the process at any time. Throughout the session, the therapist will support and facilitate your own self-healing and intervene as little as possible. Reprocessing is usually experienced as something that happens spontaneously, and new connections and insights are felt to arise quite naturally from within. As a result, most people experience EMDR as being a natural and incredibly empowering therapy.

What evidence is there that EMDR is a successful treatment?

EMDR is an innovative clinical treatment which has successfully helped over a million individuals. The validity and reliability of EMDR has been established by rigorous research. There are now nineteen controlled studies into EMDR making it the most thoroughly researched method used in the treatment of trauma, (Details on www.emdr-europe.org and www.emdr.org) is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) as an effective treatment for PTSD.

Case Study

John had been under the Doctor for treatment for recurring nightmares which were directly related to a traumatic incident at work. He had received cognitive behaviour treatment which helped but still the nightmares came back. When he came to us he was concerned about his stability because a friend involved in the incident had just committed suicide and he was fearful he may follow. Initially we undertook a thorough assessment to ensure he was stable enough to undergo EMDR. Once we were satisfied, John experienced two sessions of EMDR and the nightmares disappeared. Three months on and he is still clear of them.

For more information please contact:

Angela Whitlock PGD.Hyp, D.Hyp, BSCH(Mem) Cert Ed.

Tel. 01423 206806

The BSCH exists to ensure that all recommended therapists have proper training and abide by a strict ethical code of practice.

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How many of us have the hidden anxiety of ‘I’ll get found out’.

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

As well as a speaker, I’m a Clinical Hypnotherapist and EMDR practitioner and recently I did a talk on ‘I’ll get found out’. This is a syndrome that hits many of us in our working lives, it evens attacks the rich and famous. I first heard Billy Connolly say it many years ago when he described his work as “just having a chat with people on stage” and a fear that people would realise that actually that was all he did and one day he might get found out.

I’ve always been fascinated with this self-belief and the talk I gave was triggered by working with a fellow therapist, who had studied all her life. She had in fact achieved Three Degrees, not the pop group that sang in the seventies but three full on academic degrees and still felt she didn’t know enough for her audience and would get found out. She even cancelled a meeting with friends in case they challenged her.

When I explored this it all linked back to a childhood event, when her opinion was deemed irrelevant; how many of us have that link? My hand is up already! I was shouted at by an English teacher for an incorrect spelling and now I’m a brilliant proof reader but does that come from ‘fear of being found out’? By the way don’t pick on any mistakes in this piece of text because it might re-traumatise me!

I could see in the audience when I delivered the talk, how many people related to this but generally it’s an unspoken thought, which leads to a feeling and then the action we take is often manifested in nerves or stress before an event.

But who can judge whether we know enough? What really matters is that we are experts in what we believe in and sure enough there will always be someone that thinks or actually does know more than us but we are talented enough to get back on the subject of what we do know.

I recently wrote a book called ‘Walk On The Grass’ and the biggest hurdle I had to overcome was the potential criticism from all the Psychology Academics out there who might tear it to pieces but I  realised that most of them have the same underlying fear, that they’ll get found out too.

Amazing don’t you think, we are always on the lookout for someone who knows more than us and sure enough sooner or later we’ll find them. But here I suggest instead of feeling intimated, harness that knowledge and learn from them and add it to your own repertoire. Rest assured I did get rid of my colleagues self belief and the seeding event that caused her obsession for undertaking any more degree’s. She now thinks getting found out will be a fun challenge, bring it on.

Posted in EMDR, Fears and Phobias, Speaking, Stress | No Comments »