In the 1980s when EMDR was first put forward as a method of helping individuals deal with post traumatic stress, many were sceptical about how such a simple process could do what many months of therapy had failed to achieve.
A healthy scepticism is going to be beneficial when looking at any type of therapy, and in this case it is understandable that many were simply not convinced. The process works by using eye movement to reprogram the brain, and in certain cases it would seem that one session was enough to resolve all trauma suffered for good.
The success of the therapy was in some ways the reason so many were sceptical, feeling it must be some kind of con. Yet the results continued to be very positive and very consistent, and now the majority of mental health practitioners are taking EMDR training to ensure that they too can get such positive results.
So how can such a simple process be so successful? Well, the simplest solutions are usually the best, and EMDR works by using eye movement to fire up different parts of the brain. Eye movement and brain activity are very much linked and when we recall events or emotions, certain areas of the brain are used, and we can usually tell which by watching an individual’s eyes. By using eye movements, those who have taken such PSTD training can help to move such memories from the emotional side of the brain across to the more rational side, ensuring that when memories imbed themselves again, they are doing so in a far less stressful and traumatic way.
With the ease of the approach and the high success rate, it was only a matter of time before EMDR was used extremely widely, and its growing popularity shows just how effective a tool EMDR is for anyone dealing with those suffering from PTSD.
For more information please visit – www.emdrworks.org
