EMDR – how this comprehensive trauma therapy can help you.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing) therapy – developed to treat severe trauma it can also help with many different types of disorders.
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What is EMDR?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing) therapy was originally developed to treat post-traumatic stress disorders, including experiences of war. However, it’s since been found to have far reaching applications for many different types of disorders.At Pinnacle our EMDR accredited therapists use this advanced therapy to help people with trauma, whether that’s in their personal or professional lives. EMDR therapy can also help children to cope with trauma and crises.
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How does EMDR help?
Some people don’t want to talk about what is troubling them. Some people don’t fully know. That’s not a problem with EMDR because it enables us to work blind to the actual issue: sometimes we work with people and treat them without needing to discuss any of the specifics of the trauma.Imagine watching a film back in your mind of a traumatic incident, and pausing at the worst moment: the part that really encapsulates the trauma. That’s what we get our patients to do, replaying it in their mind. We ask them to notice something in the past, and then notice something in the present. We call it bilateral stimulation.We do this because the part of our brain that processes trauma, the reptilian part of our brain, doesn’t know how to handle the incident and can’t store it as a memory.EMDR therapy can be a very powerful treatment for people who have experienced any of the following traumas:● Violence● Natural disasters● Accidents● Abuse● Neglect in childhood● Surgery● Performance anxiety
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What actually happens in an EMDR therapy session?
The EMDR therapy stimulates both the left and right sides of the brain, using a range of techniques including hand movements, alternating lights or vibrating sensors, while the client recalls the event which is the cause of the trauma (or traumas).The effect of EMDR is similar to Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, during which the brain makes sense of the day’s events, reprocessing the memory and releasing negative emotions and associations. Our trained EMDR therapists will guide you through the process helping you to work through your particular trauma.
“EMDR therapy is a way of helping your brain process trauma as memory. We use it a lot and the results can be relatively quick and really powerful. When you use talking therapy (e.g. counselling) to treat trauma you are dealing with the rational part of the mind, and it can be effective. For some people though this won’t be enough. EMDR helps you treat the irrational part of the mind as well, which you also need to treat, through guiding someone’s internal experience.”
Richard Reid – CEO, Therapist & Coaching Psychologist
How can an EMDR trained therapist help? A case study.
David was a 40-year-old man who began to have flashbacks to a traumatic event in the past. Whilst he had been at university, he had been assaulted by a man who attacked him when he was withdrawing money from an ATM.David tried to put the incident behind him but he did start to binge eat and gained 10 pounds during the next year at university. He noticed through the years that he became startled when he heard footsteps behind him or when he heard sudden noises.EMDR was recommended for the flashbacks that began to trouble him. David’s ‘target symptom’ was the assault. David re-experienced the shock and terror of the assault, reliving the scene in his mind and body. Then he let it go as if he were on a train watching the event become smaller and smaller until it disappeared from memory. Finally it was gone and in the past.The next memory that came up during the processing was when he was a small child in the hospital having his tonsils removed. He felt safe with his mother beside him, but then the nurses wheeled him away to the operating room. He remembered screaming and feeling suffocated when they held him down and the doctor put a black ether mask over his face. As he relived the memory, he relaxed his breathing and felt in control of it. Then he let this memory go, too.In both instances, David had believed that he was helpless. Through EMDR, his negative belief that he was helpless, changed to “I can take care of myself.”
Together, our network of therapists have treated thousands of patients
Client success stories
“I just wanted to thank you for all your help. I really feel like I’m getting better and starting to become the person who I really am.”
“I’m so grateful to Pinnacle for giving me the chance to get rid of my fears and for my new found confidence.”
“The best investment I have ever made, how can you put a price on quality of life? Would recommend for anyone suffering from anxiety.”
What can you expect from an EMDR clinic session?
Our private EMDR therapy sessions are tailored to suit your needs. We always take a person-centred approach and work with you to reach your goal.Our sessions usually last from 30 minutes to an hour; we usually recommend a course of around 6 to 12 sessions.
