Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR)
and Attachment-Focused (AF- EMDR)
EMDR is a form of therapy which uses alternating, bilateral stimulation to reprocess traumatic events. These events can be small t or big T trauma events. There is also Relational Trauma such as when a loved one has betrayed you or caused you great pain. Attachment trauma is when an infant or child is emotionally abandoned by a parent or caregiver.
Dr. Francine Shapiro, a psychologist, developed this process in the early 1980s. She purports that clients are capable of reprocessing negative, self-distorted thoughts into positive, self-healing thoughts, given appropriate conditions or tools and proper environment. When a stressful or traumatic event occurs in a person’s life, the memory of that event can become locked into the nervous system with the original picture, sounds, thoughts and feelings. This information can become distorted and significantly alter their perception of that event. EMDR uses bilateral, side-to-side stimulation, while bringing in all of the sensory elements of the event to help the client reprocess and re-integrate positive information and release negative self-destructive thoughts. The key element is the alternating stimulation integrating the left side of the brain with the right side of the brain to bring the traumatic event to resolution.
Dr. Laurel Parnell, a psychologist as well as an EMDR Certified Therapist, later went on to develop Attachment-Focused EMDR (AF-EMDR) with an emphasis on the importance of the therapist-client relationship, incorporating Resource Tapping to strengthen clients and repair developmental deficits while using EMDR bi-lateral stimulation to process traumas. Lastly, the therapist helps the client integrate the information from a session to provide healing derived from the therapist-client interaction.
See EMDR website for further information.
EMDR Infographic 2015
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