Things To Know About EMDR Therapy
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) refers to an interactive psychotherapy technique that is used to relieve mental and psychological stress. EDMR is quite effective for trauma treatment and treatment post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well. During EMDR therapy, you are led to relive traumatically, and the triggering experiences in short doses as the therapist professionally direct how your eye movements.
EMDR is believed by many experts to be highly effective since recalling distressing events in most cases is less emotionally upsetting if your attention gets diverted. This allows the person to be gradually exposed to the thoughts or memories without experiencing a strong psychological response. The technique is believed to be effective in lessening the impact that the traumatizing memories or thoughts have on the stressed individual. People who deal with traumatic thoughts or memories, as well as those who have PTSD, can benefit a lot from EMDR therapy. The therapy can be particularly helpful for people who struggle to talk about their past traumatizing experiences freely. Although research is ongoing to prove EDMR effectiveness, EMDR therapy can also be used to treat depression, anxiety, panic attacks, eating disorders, and addictions.
EMDR therapy is categorized into eight distinct phases which means patients may need to attend different sessions. Effective treatment from EDMR usually takes twelve sessions. These phases include history and treatment planning, preparation, assessment, treatment, and evaluation. In the final phase, the patient will be asked to evaluate their progress at the end of the sessions will the therapist will do a similar evaluation. same.
Multiple studies both independent and controlled have pointed out that EMDR therapy can be effective for the treatment of PTSD. The EDMR treatment is also strongly recommended by the Department of Veterans for the treatment of PTSD. Studies have shown that people with post-traumatic stress can benefit a lot from the procedure by over seventy percent.
Patients who experienced hallucinations, anxiety, delusions and depression symptoms have significantly improved after EDMR therapy. It has also been found that EMDR therapy leads to a lower dropout rate among participants. Generally, EDMR therapy often leads to a significant reduction in the various symptoms of traumatic stress which includes anxiety and depression. Some studies have also found concrete evidence that EMDR therapy is helpful in the short term and its effects can also be felt maintained long term.
EMDR therapy is safe, with little or no side effects unlike the common of prescription medications. EMDR therapy usually causes a heightened awareness of thinking which does not always end immediately session ends and this cause light-headedness in the patients. Patients have also reported vivid and realistic dreams after undergoing EDMR therapy. In most cases, it takes several sessions to effectively treat PTSD from EMDR therapy. The therapy does not work overnight and it is important for people to be patient when they get started with the therapy. Talk to your primary care doctor and therapist about your intentions to start treatment to be sure you are ready.