The EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing treatment, is a technique discovered and developed by the North American doctor Francine Shapiro in 1987. EMDR is recognized by the WHO as a treatment for the post traumatic stress disorder. It is a psycho-therapeutic approach that solves the emotional difficulties caused by difficult experiences in the life of the subject, from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) phobias, panic attacks, to episodes of near traumatic death, grief or traumatic events in childhood.
With the EMDR treatment, the initial experiences in which the dysfunction or current symptom was anchored are processed, to understand its origin and be able to propose the model of future appropriate actions.
Treatment with EMDR “involves processing the events (experiences) of the past that laid the foundations of the current dysfunction, the present situations that make the disturbance appear (triggers), and a model of future appropriate actions” (Shapiro, 2007).
The most characteristic of this treatment is the use of bilateral stimulation through eye movements. Treating the person with EMDR activates their natural processing system so that memories from the past that are affecting them now in the present can be reprocessed, assimilated and transformed to alleviate the emotion hitherto linked.
EMDR is used to heal anxiety, stress and/or phobia, to improve performance at work, in sports and in the way of perceiving life.
The process with the person is done in a very natural way: first, the priority needs to be improved are discussed, the most suitable technique is applied in each session according to the indicated needs, and it closes with a dialogue phase for physical-mental stabilization.