Lee Kraemer's Psychotherapy Practice in Toronto and North York Ontario

BACK TO LEE'S PSYCHOTHERAPY PRACTICE PAGE
EMDR and PHOTOGRAPHY

What is EMDR?

EMDR-Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is a method used for treating emotional 'blocks' caused by disturbing life experiences, such as traumatic experiences of war, natural disasters, assault, upsetting childhood events. EMDR combines elements from several psychological orientations including psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioral and client centered. For many clients, EMDR can provide more rapid relief from emotional distress than conventional psychotherapies.

How EMDR developed.

In 1987, psychologist Francine Shapiro made the chance discovery that her voluntary eye movements reduced the intensity of negative, disturbing thoughts. Dr. Shapiro initiated a research study (Shapiro 1989) examining the efficacy of EMDR in treating traumatized Vietnam combat veterans and victims of sexual assault, and found that EMDR significantly reduced their symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Since then EMDR has been widely researched and used by therapists in several countries. It has been found that bilateral stimulation by taps or sounds works equally well.

How does EMDR Work?

No one is quite sure how or why EMDR works, at the present time research is suggesting that it changes the associations that surround a memory, decreasing the current distress about past and present events. EMDR appears to be similar to REM (rapid eye movement) sleep in which dreaming occurs. It has been established that when a person has experienced extreme upset, the brain does not process that information in the normal way. A moment of trauma can become stored as if "frozen in time". And the remembering of a it can be experienced as a repetition of the original experience, like a "flash back" with images, smells, sounds and feelings seeming to have hardly changed. Such memories can have a lasting negative effect on the way a person experiences the world, and themselves in it.

Bilateral stimulation of the brain, through hand taps, eye movement or sound seems to have a direct effect on the way that the brain functions. It seems to facilitate the reprocessing of information stored in the brain. After a successful session, the images, sounds and feelings are no longer experienced with the same intensity when the event is brought to mind. What happened is not forgotten, but something about the memories will have changed the way they are experienced in the present, most often it is less upsetting.

EMDR seems to facilitate the mobilization of a client's own inherent healing mechanism. It seems to stimulate an innate information processing system in the brain. Emotional difficulties are also experienced in the body, EMDR directly targets these physical sensations along with the negative beliefs and emotional states. The therapist works with the client to identify the specific problem that is to be the focus of treatment. Using a structured protocol, the therapist guides the client through the description of the disturbing event, or issue, helping the client to select the important aspects that are upsetting. While holding the image of the event in mind, the client receives some non-invasive bi-lateral stimulation. The therapist facilitates the process by making clinical decisions about the direction of the intervention. The goal is the clients' rapid processing of information about the negative experience, bringing it to an "adaptive resolution".

BACK TO TOP

How long does EMDR take?

One or more sessions are required for the therapist to understand the nature of the problem and to decide whether EMDR is an appropriate treatment. A typical EMDR session lasts about 90 minutes. The type of problem, life circumstances, and the amount of trauma will determine how many treatments are necessary. A single session of EMDR is sufficient in some cases, however a typical course of treatment is 3-10 sessions, performed weekly, or every other week. EMDR may be used within a standard "talking " therapy or as a treatment all by itself.

What is the actual EMDR session like?

During EMDR, the therapist works with the client to identify a specific problem to be the focus of a treatment session. The client is asked to call to mind i) the disturbing issue or event. Eg:-what was seen, felt, heard, thought, etc. ii) an awareness of where it is still experienced in the body, iii)thoughts and beliefs currently held about that event. The client is asked to hold all three in mind while the therapist facilitates bilateral stimulation. The client is asked to notice whatever comes to mind without making any effort to control the direction or content of the material. "Whatever happen, happens, there is no right or wrong way, let what ever comes come." Each person will process information uniquely, based on personal experiences and values. Sets of eye movements, or other stimulation (taps, or sounds) are continued until the memory becomes less disturbing and is associated with a positive thought or beliefs, for example "I did the best I could". It is a very simple technique. Clients who fear they will be unable to do it can be assured, there is no way to do it incorrectly! During EMDR sessions the client may experience intense emotions, but by the end of the session most people report a reduction in the level of disturbance. Research indicates that these effects are long lasting. Scientific research has established EMDR as effective for post- traumatic stress. It has also been found to be useful in the treatment of:
* Post Traumatic Stress * Disturbing Memories * Phobias * Creative Blocks * Anxiety * Complicated Grief * Post-operative Trauma * Aspects of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome * Stress Reduction * Recurrent Nightmares * Performance Anxiety * Chronic Pain

Personal Note. I have been using EMDR with good results since 1999. Combining the EMDR treatment with my training and experience as a psychodynamic psychotherapist enables me to provide the client with a safe and non-judgmental environment, in which they can have a healing emotional experience.