Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)

What is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Treatment?

Developed by psychologist Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s, EMDR is a treatment that focused on helping clients process difficult memories and eliminate problematic symptoms. EMDR is guided by the Adaptive Information Processing Model (Shapiro 2007) which interprets many symptoms of PTSD to be the result of past experiences that have not been properly processed in the brain. Unlike other forms of therapy, EMDR focuses on memories and how they are stored.

What to Expect

During treatment sessions, trained clinicians help clients recall traumatic memories and then use a series of standardized procedures to accelerate the learning process in the brain (e.g. the use of eye movements and rhythmic left-right (bilateral) simulations like tones or taps). These techniques work to to assist with memory processing and desensitization. Over the course of several treatments and as memories and negative feelings become less distressing or vivid, clinicians will help a client develop more adaptive and positive thoughts and feelings.

EMDR treatment occurs over eight phases including:

Most clients receive a total of 6-12 EMDR sessions.

The Goals of EMDR

• Help clients diminish and reprocess negative feelings and memories that are associated with traumatic events

• Help relieve psychological stress through an experiential process

• Support adaptive thinking around past and current events and experiences

Who Can Benefit from EMDR?

EMDR is beneficial for individuals struggling with:

• Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

• Trauma

• Phobias

• Panic attacks

• Substance use disorders

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy - New York City | Washington, DC

We provide Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy to young adult clients at all of our locations including The Dorm New York, NY and The Dorm Washington, DC.