EMDR's Turkish meaning is "Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing". EMDR enables individuals to heal the symptoms that arise due to negative life experiences and to get rid of the emotional problems they have. EMDR is a psychotherapy technique whose effectiveness has been proven by controlled studies in alleviating the effects of individuals' past traumatic experiences that are reflected in the present.
What is the Aim of EMDR?
There are many things that affect our daily lives. We may not be able to directly find the cause of the problem. “Why am I always anxious?”, “Why do I repeat these behaviors?” Various questions such as these circulate in our minds. At this point, EMDR investigates the past experiences that caused the problems that affect our daily lives, that is, the origin of these problems. In EMDR, memories that create trauma for the person are addressed. These traumatic memories may include a memory of abuse or a family argument. Whether an event is considered traumatic or not depends entirely on the person's experience at that moment and how they internalize this experience. EMDR addresses traumas experienced directly or indirectly. It ensures that these traumas become neutral in the person's mind, and thus the person becomes insensitive to this traumatizing memory. Of course, this does not mean that the experienced moment is completely erased from the person's mind, only the effects of the memory on the person's mind are mitigated. It is observed that as the effects of the memory on the person change, the existing symptoms also disappear. During this process, the client also learns how to combat similar problems he or she will encounter in the future. EMDR not only addresses disturbing memories that the client has experienced in the past, but also focuses on current distresses he has and the skills he wants to develop for the future.
How is EMDR Applied?
In EMDR, the client's eyes are moved from right to left and left to right, thus providing bidirectional stimulation to the right and left lobes of the brain. These eye movements can be made by the therapist moving his hand from right to left, left to right, or by giving the client sound from the right and left sides alternately through the headphones. It can be achieved by hitting the left and right shoulders alternately. With bidirectional stimulation, a switch is made between the right and left lobes of the brain, thus facilitating information processing and new learning. Before bilateral stimulation is given, the client is asked to revive the memory that traumatized him/her. The client visualizes this memory in detail in his mind. This animation should be in the form of a clear visual scene. While reviving this memory, the client's feelings about the memory are brought to the fore. By matching the revived memory step by step with bidirectional stimulation sent to the brain, the person is desensitized to this memory.
How Many Sessions Does EMDR Take?
The answer to this question is from person to person. It will change. That's why there is no clear answer. The process varies depending on the client's characteristics, the problems he brings to therapy and his expectations from therapy, and the length of the therapy process varies accordingly. Research suggests that EMDR gives results in a shorter time compared to many psychotherapy approaches.
For Which Problems Is EMDR Applied?
EMDR is used for grief, phobias, sexual or It can be used to treat many symptoms, including physical abuse, panic disorder, stress, performance anxiety, depression, and various complex traumas.
Are There Any Harms of EMDR?
EMDR is a very safe technique when performed by a trained practitioner. Since EMDR works with the technique of processing the client's past traumas, the client may experience emotional intensity during the session. However, since the aim is to reduce this emotional intensity, the client feels better with the techniques applied. Before starting to work with traumatic memories, there is a preparation process that varies in duration depending on the characteristics of the client. This preparation process ends when the client is ready to work on his or her traumatic memories, and thus EMDR practices begin.
Who Can Apply EMDR?
The person you receive EMDR therapy for your mental health should be a psychiatrist trained in the EMDR Turkey Association. You should especially pay attention to whether he is a therapist. In order to prevent unconscious and incorrect interventions, you should only receive this support from experts who have received the EMDR application certificate. EMDR can only be applied by experts who have completed the EMDR Turkish Association's EMDR certified training.
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