Community Based EMDR Therapy Now available for Ely Centre Members
The Ely Centre, Enniskillen have continued the development of their counselling and psychological service through the assistance of a BACP Senior Accredited Supervisor and EMDR Europe Accredited Consultant to provide EMDR in a community setting. EMDR is an increasingly efficient therapy for the treatment of Trauma for ex security force personnel and civilians bereaved and injured as a result of the troubles.
This recent development now ensures that members are able to access the two most effective psychological therapies for the treatment of trauma, namely Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and EMDR, alongside arange of additional counselling support currently available.
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a fairly new, non-traditional type of psychotherapy. It’s growing in popularity, particularly for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD often occurs after experiences such as terrorism, military combat, physical assault, rape, or car accidents.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy developed by American Psychologist Francine Shapiro that emphasizes disturbing memories as the cause of psychopathology and has been demonstrated to alleviate the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
If something traumatic has happened to you as a result of the Troubles, the memory of your experience may come crashing back into your mind, forcing you to relive the original event with the same intensity of feeling – like it is taking place in the present moment.
These experiences that pop into your awareness may present themselves as either flashbacks or nightmares, and are thought to occur because the mind was simply too overwhelmed during the event to process what was going on.
As a result, these unprocessed memories and the accompanying sights, sounds, thoughts and feelings are stored in the brain in ‘raw’ form, where they can be accessed each time we experience something that triggers a recollection of the original event.
While it isn’t possible to erase these memories, the process of Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR) can alter the way these traumatic memories are stored within the brain – making them easier to manage and causing you less distress.
Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (more commonly known as EMDR), is a form of psychotherapy developed in the 1980s by American psychologist Francine Shapiro.
Today, the therapy is used to treat a wide range of psychological difficulties that typically originate in trauma, such as direct or indirect experiences of violence, accidents or natural disaster. EMDR therapy is also used to treat more prolonged, low-grade distress that originates in shock or loss in adult life and/or issues experienced during childhood. The experiences outlined above often lead to a post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosis, for which EMDR has been recommended by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
Increasingly, EMDR therapy is also being used for the treatment of other issues including:
- depression
- performance anxiety
- phobias and fears
- anxiety
- low self-esteem.
- Reported benefits of EMDR include:
- A reduction in re-experiencing trauma memories.
- Feeling more able to cope with and manage trauma memories without needing to avoid potential triggers.
- Feeling more able to engage in and enjoy pleasurable activities and relationships.
- Reduced feelings of stress, anxiety, irritation and hypervigilance - allowing you to rest well, address pressure and/or conflict and go about your daily business without feeling fearful and prone to panic.
- Reduced feelings of isolation, hopelessness and depression.
- A boost in self-confidence and self-esteem.
When traumatic events occur, the body’s natural cognitive and neurological coping mechanisms can be overwhelmed and subsequently the memory is inadequately processed and stored in an isolated network.
The goal of EMDR therapy is to properly process these traumatic memories, reducing their impact and helping clients to develop coping mechanisms.
The goal of EMDR is to reduce distress in the shortest period of time using a comprehensive approach with therapeutic protocols and procedures. There are eight phases to EMDR therapy which typically adhere to the following format:
Getting to know you in this way will help your therapist determine whether or not EMDR is the best course of action for you.
Before EMDR treatment begins, your therapist will talk you through the theory, answering any questions you may have. At this point your therapist will spend some time going through relaxation exercises (these may include guided meditations or breathing techniques) to utilise during the treatment and during times of stress outside of your sessions. Therapists refer to this second phase as preparation.
The nature of EMDR means that after your session the treatment will continue to be active in your awareness. This means that you may find yourself thinking about the thoughts you focused on during your session and you may feel the same emotions you experienced during your session. To help you through this process, allow yourself time and space to relax after an EMDR session and utilise the relaxation techniques you have learnt. Be sure to discuss your feelings with your therapist in your next session. While everyone is different, over time these feelings will generally become less intense and many people say they feel a strong sense of relief after their sessions