The onset of a serious illness can cause a person to reorient his or her life. Francine Shapiro, inventor of the EMDR method
is a case in point.
An unexpected cancer diagnosis drove her, then a budding literary scholar and critic, to search for psychological methods that could improve the interaction of mind and body.
During a walk in the park, she discovered the amazing effect of eye movements.
She noticed that certain stressful thoughts that had been haunting her,
suddenly disappeared.
She also noticed that when these thoughts were deliberately recalled, they no longer seemed as burdensome and threatening as they had originally.
She was amazed to find that the stressful thoughts had changed and disappeared.
She was so fascinated by this that she tried to track down the phenomenon through close observation: Whenever stressful thoughts appeared, her eyes spontaneously moved back and forth very quickly in a diagonal line.
Afterwards, the stressful thoughts disappeared, and the associated negative affect was greatly reduced.
From this discovery and the realization that most people find it difficult to continue these eye movements alone over a longer period of time, she developed the guided eye movements for the EMDR method.
EMDR, today long scientifically recognized stands for "Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing", means: desensitization and reprocessing with eye movements.
EMDR is considered one of the most effective methods
in trauma therapy.
EMDR can be combined very well with other methods and is suitable for self-management in addition to the use psychotherapy, coaching, counseling.
I combine EMDR with hypnosis. Depending on the needs of the patient, I use it for deep relaxation before or after EMDR treatment.
How does EMDR work?
EMDR acts on the neural pathways in the brain.
Through bilateral stimulation, both hemispheres of the brain are activated and synchronized in relation to a traumatic event.
Traumatic experiences are anchored in the brain in blocked or incompletely integrated memory networks.
They are stored as they were experienced at the time of the event.
EMDR can bring about a reprocessing of memories.
With the goal of noticeable and visible relief on the physical, emotional and sensory level, the stressful event is recorded and worked through in individual steps in a process that is actively and intensively accompanied by therapy.
The client is asked to take on the role of an observer.
The observer perspective creates an emotional distance to the experience and thus enables a re-evaluation.
In addition to controlled eye movements, auditory and tactile stimulation are used to enhance the effect by engaging multiple senses.
EMDR not only enables accelerated processing of stressful memory fragments, but also cognitive restructuring, i.e., a re-evaluation of the experience as well as a changed attitude toward oneself and one's own resources.
For example, the feeling "I am to blame" can become the feeling.
"I did what I could."
Or, "I did something wrong" transforms into.
"I can learn, (I have learned from it)".
If you would like to learn more about this technique and how it can help you, feel free to contact me.
Σχόλια