Overcoming the effects of trauma
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing. It is a unique, powerful therapy that helps people recover from problems triggered by traumatic events in their lives. It stops difficult memories causing so much distress by helping the brain to reprocess them properly, working with memory to heal the legacy of past pain.
EMDR therapy is best known for treating PTSD but can help with a range of mental health conditions in people of all ages including depression and anxiety.
Internationally recognised, EMDR therapy is endorsed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence; the World Health Organisation; The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies; the NHS (in the UK); and many other bodies. There are more than 10,000 trained EMDR therapists in the UK alone, and it has helped millions of people worldwide.
It is very important to see a properly qualified therapist. For information see Find a therapist.
Please note, various media coverage is shown here in order to share with you many different people’s experiences of EMDR treatment. For authoritative descriptions and definitions of the therapy please return to this site as the EMDR Association is not responsible for third party content.
A therapist describes why her initial scepticism about EMDR changed to conviction, and gives readers five key pointers about the therapy in Psychology Today:
This Attitude Magazine article by leading therapist Rebecca Case provides a simple description of EMDR therapy and who it can help:
In this Radio 4 Series ‘The Madness’, journalist Fergal Keane reads from his memoir about his struggle with PTSD, haunted by the horrors he bore witness to in Rwanda in 2008. In this episode he talks about his experience of having EMDR therapy (at 05:40 minutes):
Men’s Health magazine takes up the theme of trauma, and describes a range of trauma therapies including EMDR:
As Miley Cyrus says EMDR helped her heal from traumatic experiences, EMDR UK member Sanja Oakley answers questions about the therapy in this article for British Vogue.
