EMDR

EMDR is an innovative therapeutic method that accelerates the treatment of a wide range of pathologies of psychological origin such as post-traumatic stress disorder, phobias, losses and grief, anxiety disorders, panic attacks, chronic pain, and even alleviating the anguish of public speaking, improving performance at work, in sports and in artistic performances. The method discovered and developed since 1987 by Dr. Francine Shapiro, consists of using bilateral stimulation in a special protocol related to traumatic situations that triggers desensitization and the consequent reprocessing of the same, accompanied by the disappearance of the symptoms.

In 1987, psychology doctor Francine Shapiro, a senior researcher at the Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto, California, casually observed that under certain conditions, eye movement could reduce the intensity of distress linked to negative thoughts. In 1989, she began research with subjects traumatized in the Vietnam War and with victims of sexual abuse, and found that the new technique significantly reduced the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The report of his successes when using this method in the treatment of trauma victims was published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, and in 1994 she received the "Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement in Psychology" from the California Psychological Association. Several scientific investigations have shown that EMDR is highly effective as a psychotherapeutic resource. The prestigious Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology published research by Wilson, Becker and Thinker, in which it was shown that people suffering from PTSD and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder improved significantly with EMDR treatment. Fifteen months later, the same satisfactory results were still maintained.

Scientific research has established that EMDR is effective both for post-traumatic stress and for other types of pathologies such as: • Anxiety or panic attacks • Dissociative disorders • Complex post-traumatic stress disorders such as abuse and mistreatment in childhood • Grief – losses • Fear of surgical intervention • Attention disorders, impulsivity, restlessness • Phobias, irrational fear

In the EMDR process, the therapist works with the patient to identify a specific problem that will be the focus of treatment. The patient describes the traumatic incident, from which he is helped by the therapist to select the most important and most distressing aspects of said incident. While the patient makes eye movements (or any other bilateral stimulation) other parts of the traumatic memory or other memories come to mind. The therapist interrupts eye movements from time to time to ensure that the patient is processing properly. Bilateral stimulation can be: a) Visual: the patient moves his eyes from one side to the other guided by the therapist b) Auditory: the patient hears alternating sounds in both ears c) Kinesthetic: the therapist taps gently and alternately on the hands or shoulders of the patient. This facilitates the connection between the two cerebral hemispheres, achieving information processing and reducing emotional load. The therapist guides the process, making clinical decisions about the direction the intervention should follow. The goal is for the patient to process information about the traumatic incident, leading to an "adaptive resolution." In the words of Francine Shapiro, this means: a) a reduction in symptoms b) a change in beliefs c) the ability to function better in everyday life. The approach used in EMDR is based on three points: 1) early life experiences 2) stressful experiences of the present 3) thoughts and desired behaviors for the future Treatment with EMDR can be from 3 sessions for a simple trauma to more than a year for complex problems.

The type of problem, life circumstances, and the amount of time spent with the previous trauma will determine how many EMDR sessions are necessary. A typical treatment lasts 10 sessions, one per week. The EMDR method can be used within standard "verbal" therapy, as a complementary therapy with a separate therapist, or as a treatment in itself.

At this time, around 40,000 therapists around the world have been trained in the method. Over the years it has been seen that the method, which began as an exclusive method to treat trauma resulting from violent or accidental events, has also proven to be extremely useful for the treatment of emotional problems and psychological disorders in general. It is, for example, a very useful method to address the consequences of mistreatment and/or sexual abuse in childhood. As a highly effective method in the treatment of trauma, it is recommended by mental health authorities in countries where there are problems, both natural disasters and terrorist violence, war or other traumatic events. Most of the components of the Disaster Intervention Groups in Catalonia have been trained in EMDR, as well as civil protection clinicians, mossos d'esquadra, psychologists from the fire department in Catalonia and Psychologists without Borders. EMDR treatments in traumatized populations in war situations are extremely effective and fast.