EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing therapy has stood up to scrutiny by a number of organisations as an effective form of therapy in the treatment of Post-Trauma Stress Syndrome (PTSD) and other traumas. Organisations which have backed EMDR include the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, and the American Psychiatric Association.
PTSD is diagnosed where particular symptoms are present in those who have experienced major traumas such as active military service, sexual or physical assault, or the sudden death of a loved one.
Symptoms can include flashback, nightmares, persistent thoughts about the event, or the avoidance of thinking about the incident, problems sleeping or concentrating, and angry outbursts.
Recent research has also suggested that some less dramatic life experiences can also trigger some PTSD symptoms, including childhood experiences or problematic relationships with peers or parents.
Sometimes, these kinds of experiences can be so disturbing they disrupt the brain’s information processing system which helps people adapt to things which are traumatic.
If the brain has not processed bad memories properly, the present can become coloured by negative emotions and sensations, so that the past is never laid to rest, but continues to poison the present. Even seemingly trivial things, such as the expression on someone’s face, can spark negative associations, and accompanying sensations, such as a tightness in the stomach or chest. That’s where EMDR comes in!
Anyone with these kinds of PTSD symptoms can benefit from EMDR, a relatively new but highly effective therapy based on eye movement.
This treatment is not confined to merely removing mental and physical symptoms. It tackles the future and present as well as the past, so that the person receiving the therapy gains a state of total emotional well-being. Even athletes, performers and top executives have undergone EMDR in order to reach “peak performance” and to be freed from the past to gain a fulfilling future and a productive present.
If you are a mental health practitioner in particular, you may want to learn more about this form of therapy, which you can only learn to use with the right psychotherapy training.
EMDR Workshops with EMDR Works
At EMDR Works, we’re one of the leading providers of EMDR training in Europe, and have a reputation for the quality of our EMDR workshops.
We offer training for mental health professionals at venues in London, Bristol and Edinburgh and can also save you time and money by coming and offering sessions for staff at your own premises.
There are four parts to our training, from basic theory and practice, lasting two days, to learning a deeper understanding and working with a wider range of clients and more challenging and complex issues and interventions, before a final one-day session of accreditation, consultation and supervision. Trainees are then accredited as EMDR Europe accredited practitioners.
Learn more today about how our highly skilled team of trainers could help you or your staff with EMDR training. You’ll find more information, and some customer testimonials, along with course dates, on our user-friendly website.