Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR) at The Kidd Clinic
By Jessica Leyton, Alise Bender, and Zandra Eller
What is EMDR?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing. It is a psychotherapy treatment that helps to reduce distressing emotions and sensations associated with traumatic or upsetting memories. It isn’t just for those who have experienced trauma, but can also be used to help treat depression, phobias, OCD, and more.
EMDR involves sessions with a trained psychologist typically on a weekly basis, with some clients needing bi-weekly appointments. The frequency and number of sessions is determined at the time of initial assessment. Sessions are typically 50-90 mins in duration.
Your therapist will continually check in with you throughout the entire process, however, will usually say very little – it can feel a lot different to a typical therapy session!
How does EMDR work? And who can use it?
When traumatic events occur, these memories are often stored incorrectly in our memory network. They are often not fully processed and stored in the same way that neutral or positive memories might be. When we are faced with a trigger, these incorrectly stored memories are re-experienced, leaving us feeling as if we were right back where the event took place. We may experience similar thoughts, physical sensations, and emotions as we experienced at the time of the event, or we may feel nothing at all.
EMDR works by helping us to bring these memories forward and correctly store (reprocess) them again in our memory network. EMDR does not get rid of memories, however it can help make them feel less distressing. The task of thinking about the memory whilst rapidly moving the eyes from side to side appears to activate a part of our brains that helps in this process. This type of eye movement is similar to what we would experience during REM sleep.
Research has shown EMDR to be an effective treatment for those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Some studies have shown that 84-90% of those with single-event trauma no longer meet criteria for PTSD after just three 90-minute sessions.
EMDR can also be used to treat symptoms of depression, anxiety, phobias, OCD, and body image concerns.
While the research suggests EMDR is an effective approach to reducing the impact of trauma, there may be some side effects involved. These side-effects are not unexpected, and usually indicate that the brain is working really hard to process the original memory. These may include:
an increase in distressing memories
heightened emotions or physical sensations
light-headedness
vivid dreams
the surfacing of new traumatic memories.
Should any of these occur, your psychologist would typically support you to process these during the sessions or at your next processing session. Your psychologist will have prepared you for the possibility of these side-effects, and you will be provided with tools to manage any associated distress after a session.
Is EMDR effective with neurodivergent folk?
Yes! There are certain adaptations that your psychologist will make throughout the course of EMDR treatment to ensure therapy is tailored to your needs.
Processing may look different for everyone, so it is best to discuss this directly with your psychologist at your initial appointment.
Does The Kidd Clinic offer EMDR?
Yes! A small number of our practitioners offer EMDR therapy. Feel free to contact our friendly Client Care Team on 08 6237 7940 or admin@kiddclinic.com.au to find out more.
