EMDR THERAPY

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy method recommended by organizations such as the WHO and the American Psychiatric Association for working with trauma. It helps to safely process difficult experiences that, despite the passage of time, still affect our emotions and behaviors.

EMDR therapy consists of 8 steps:
1. Learning your history and setting therapy goals.
2. Preparation and practicing coping techniques.
3. Selecting the memory and its components (thoughts, emotions, body sensations).
4. Desensitization – working with the memory while using eye movements or other bilateral stimulation.
5. Strengthening positive beliefs.
6. Checking whether the body is free from tension.
7. Closure and stabilization.
8. Assessing the effects in subsequent sessions.

During the session, you focus on a difficult memory while the therapist guides you through bilateral stimulation – e.g., left–right eye movements, alternating sounds in headphones, or gentle tapping on the hands. This rhythmic, alternating input makes both brain hemispheres work simultaneously, activating the brain’s natural information-processing system. As a result, memories that were previously “stuck” in a painful form can be reprocessed and stored in a new way – without overwhelming emotional charge.

Research shows that EMDR is one of the most effective methods for working with trauma. Clinical studies confirm its rapid and lasting effects in reducing symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, depression, and relationship difficulties.

When difficult experiences have not been fully processed, they may still “activate” in daily life – as if they were happening here and now. For example, someone who experienced an assault may still have a panic attack years later when walking down the same street, even though there is no real danger anymore.

EMDR can help with:
● childhood trauma,
● experiences of violence and abuse,
● anxiety and panic attacks,
● depression,
● relationship problems,
● feelings of low self-worth or shame,
● difficult professional experiences (e.g., burnout, workplace bullying).

Eye movements (or other bilateral stimuli) work similarly to natural brain processes that occur during REM sleep. This allows difficult memories to be reprocessed and integrated – they stop triggering intense emotions, and the patient can view them from a new perspective.