| EMDR Therapy for PTSD | | | | EMDR. |
| Negative memories can haunt us, and if we | | | | During an EMDR session, the patient will be asked to |
| experience a severe trauma, the memory of the | | | | remember the traumatic event, and as they visualize |
| event can cause serious and enduring physical and | | | | the memory, at the same time move their eyes left |
| psychological harms. | | | | and right by following the therapist's quickly moving |
| PTSD is essentially the mind's inability to deal with the | | | | hand or light. |
| memory of a traumatic event. Remembering the | | | | The process is repeated many times during a series |
| event causes unpleasant reactions, such as anxiety, | | | | of sessions, until the patient no longer experiences a |
| insomnia, nightmares, irritability or anger, depression | | | | negative reaction to the traumatic memory. They still |
| and other symptoms, and so we try not to think of | | | | remember it, but no longer feel the intense biological |
| the event - to repress it. | | | | and psychological reaction to thoughts of the event. |
| Unfortunately, this repression only serves to increase | | | | It works and it works fast, many patients show a |
| the severity of the symptoms, and lessens our ability | | | | significant improvement after only a few sessions. |
| to control when that memory is going to pop up. | | | | Why does it work? |
| Many substance abusers and addicts abuse drugs or | | | | No one is really sure! A relatively new therapy, it has |
| alcohol partly to self medicate the symptoms of | | | | only gained wide adoption in the last decade or so, |
| these painful repressed memories. Drugs and alcohol | | | | and scientific studies lag behind the anecdotal |
| can dull the mind and do work for a while to reduce | | | | evidence - although the few studies that have been |
| the severity of PTSD symptoms, but ultimately they | | | | done do confirm the effects reported by therapists |
| only worsen the disorder, and the regular abuse of | | | | and their patients. |
| drugs or alcohol can quickly become an addiction. | | | | Some hypothesize that EDMR works by replicating |
| And once in addiction recovery, these traumatic | | | | the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage of sleep, |
| memories can lead to relapse, and so as a part of | | | | allowing the mind to finally process and store the |
| the recovery process, we need to learn to | | | | traumatic memory - others think that the movement |
| overcome the legacy of our past. | | | | of the eyes somehow allows for an inter hemispheric |
| EMDR in addiction treatment | | | | sharing of the memory in the mind. |
| The most widely used therapeutic tool for the | | | | Research continues, but therapists aren't waiting |
| treatment of traumatic memories is cognitive | | | | around. Excited by the new technique, thousands of |
| therapy. During cognitive therapy, patients are asked | | | | American therapists now offer EMDR. |
| to visualize the traumatic event. Working through the | | | | As an addiction treatment, EMDR is well suited to a |
| memory with a therapist, the patient gradually | | | | drug rehab stay. It works quickly enough to allow |
| becomes desensitized to the effects. | | | | patients to make significant progress in only a few |
| This can be a slow process. | | | | short weeks, and it seems to offer patients a better |
| More recently, therapists have been adopting eye | | | | chance of lasting sobriety. |
| movement desocialization reprocessing therapy, or | | | | |