What is EMDR
therapy?
EMDR is an acronym for 'Eye Movement
Desensitisation and Reprocessing'. EMDR is a powerful psychological treatment method that was developed by an American clinical psychologist, Dr Francine Shapiro, in the 1980s. As a Senior Research
Fellow at the Mental Research Institute, she published the first research data to support the benefits of the therapy in 1989.
Since then a wealth of research has been
conducted demonstrating its benefits in treating psychological trauma arising from experiences as diverse as war related experiences, childhood sexual and/or physical abuse or neglect, natural
disaster, assault, surgical trauma, road traffic accidents and workplace accidents. Since its original development, EMDR is also increasingly used to help individuals with other issues and
performance anxiety. EMDR has been found to be of benefit to children as well as adults.
EMDR is a complex and powerful therapy.
Therapists always have a background in mental health before undertaking training in EMDR. You are strongly recommended to only consult legitimate clinicians who have undergone a bona-fide EMDR
training. The EMDR Europe and EMDR UK and Ireland accredited training organisations can be found under 'Trainers' on the EMDR UK & Ireland web site. Search find a therapist to check that
your therapist is accredited.
The Evidence for EMDR
EMDR research is featured in the New York
Times - Dr Francine Shapiro responds to questions. Follow this link which contains further links to specific research articles
and a full reference list.
For more information go to www.emdrassociation.org.uk