EMDR Therapy

Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing Therapy

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy used to treat the symptoms & emotional distress that are the result of traumatic or disturbing life experiences. EMDR is a structured therapy that encourages the patient to briefly focus on the trauma memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation (typically eye movements), which is associated with a reduction in the vividness and emotion associated with the trauma memories.

A course of EMDR therapy can take up to 12 sessions depending on the severity of trauma-related symptoms. In certain cases, multiple courses may be needed.

It is an extensively researched psychotherapy and is an approved therapy under the Better Access Medicare Initiative.

- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Phobias
- Anxiety
- Addictions
- Panic attacks
- Chronic Pain
- Overeating
- Nightmares
- Social Anxiety
- Recent traumatic events
To begin, 4 sessions are booked typically one week apart.
A course of EMDR therapy can take up to 12 sessions depending on the severity of trauma-related symptoms.
In certain cases, multiple courses may be needed depending on the severity of symptoms.
After taking a history and assessing the concerns you have, your psychologist will help you identify when you began experiencing symptoms and what memories are associated with your feelings.
Your psychologist will work with you to identify a significant memory associated with the event and you only need to provide enough detail as you feel comfortable with.
Once the target memory has been identified, your psychologist will ask you to bring the memory into conscious focus and your thoughts and feelings associated with it.
Your psychologist will then begin bilateral eye movements while you gently hold the image in your mind.
After each round of processing, your psychologist will then invite you to explore the associated images, thoughts and emotions that arose.
Adequate care is taken to ensure that each client is supported throughout the course of EMDR Therapy.
At the beginning of your sessions, your psychologist will discuss coping strategies and aftercare to ensure that you feel supported.
In some cases where the trauma memory is especially distressing, your psychologist will work with you to create a safety plan.
We recommend that clients taking part in EMDR Therapy allow themselves adequate time after their therapy sessions to practice self-care and process any delayed emotional responses.