EMDR Therapy
Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is a psychological therapy used to treat trauma, anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions that are linked to traumatic or adverse life events. EMDR is a structured treatment approach that focuses on processing past experiences and emotions that may be contributing to your current symptoms or life difficulties, as well as looking ahead to increasing your quality of life in the future.
Melissa Howie is a fully trained EMDR therapist and certified practitioner with the EMDR Association of Australia (EMDRAA). She is a member of the EMDRAA and the EMDR International Association and is currently completing the Accredited EMDR Consultant credential.
EMDR therapy is an evidence-based treatment that is approved by Medicare. Melissa has fully trained with Ana Gomez in children’s EMDR.
Examples where EMDR therapy can be used include addictions, single/multiple incident trauma, eating disorders, grief, nightmares, anxiety, depression and pain, anger, sex offender treatment, and neuro-divergent matters. There is strong research that schema therapy and EMDR can be integrated and effective for a range of both traumatic and mental health issues.
what will occur in my eMDR Session?
In an EMDR session, you will be asked to recall a traumatic memory while engaging in bilateral stimulation (a visual, auditory or tactile stimulation that occurs in a rhythmic left-right pattern). Eye movements activate the brain’s natural healing, similar to what occurs during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. When you recall a memory, it moves from your long-term memory to your short-term memory (known as working memory).
Keeping the memory in mind while simultaneously tracking the bilateral stimulation means that your working memory has to process a lot of information, thus ‘overloading’ or ‘taxing’ your working memory. Everybody responds differently, but it is likely that you may experience less emotional distress, begin to distance the memory or develop more helpful beliefs.
With EMDR therapy, pathways start connecting between the emotional and logical parts of the brain. It is likely you may start thinking differently about the memory, which leads to it having a much less negative impact on you. As you process a series of key memories or issues with the assistance of EMDR therapy, your trauma symptoms are likely to reduce, more positive ways of thinking will likely develop, and your responses and behaviour will likely start to change. These changes are often quicker than other forms of therapy, as you are addressing the issues on a deep level rather than just managing your symptoms.
With EMDR therapy, some people require more preparation than others. It can be the case that single incident traumas may be resolved in a single session, while other more complex linked memories can take a lot longer.
