WHAT IS EMDR?
EMDR is an acronym for ‘Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing’. EMDR is a powerful psychological treatment method that was developed by an American clinical psychologist, Dr Francine Shapiro, in the 1980s. As a Senior Research Fellow at the Mental Research Institute, she published the first research data to support the benefits of the therapy in 1989.
EMDR is a complex and powerful therapy. Therapists always have a background in mental health before undertaking training in EMDR. You are strongly recommended to only consult legitimate clinicians who have undergone a bona-fide EMDR training. The EMDR Europe and EMDR UK and Ireland accredited training organisations can be found under ‘Trainers’ on the main website; www.emdrassociation.org.uk
EMDR featured on BBC Radio 4s programme iPM recently. The programme told the story of a woman revisiting intense experiences of being bullied very early in life, with event at just age four. Listen to her story here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04jyv3y
For a brief descriptive film of the nature of trauma, please see: