Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a type of psychotherapy that was designed in 1989 to treat traumatic memories.
After treatment with EMDR therapy, distress is relieved, negative beliefs are reformulated, and physiological arousal is reduced. One thing that distinguishes EMDR is the bilateral stimulation of the brain, while attending to inner emotions of distress.
After thirty years of clinical use, now EMDR may be used to treat: anxiety, panic attacks, depression, phobias, bipolar disorder, dissociative disorder, grief, eating disorders, pain management, personality disorders, stress, sleep disorders, addiction and performance anxiety.
In my office, we will regularly utilize some of the EMDR stress reducing and resilience resourcing techniques. In my experience, EMDR treatment requires a 90 minute session in order to have adequate time to fully process and integrate the experience.