What do you know about EMDR? I'm more interested in side effects ect...?

Question

I have a friend thats gona be useing this form of theropy and from what I have found on the net its basicaly a modern form of brain washing. I would love to hear from someone whos gone through it. Thanks!?!?

Answer 1

Well, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy treatment that was originally designed to alleviate the distress associated with traumatic memories. EMDR facilitates the accessing and processing of traumatic memories to bring these to an adaptive resolution. During EMDR the client attends to emotionally disturbing material in brief sequential doses while simultaneously focusing on an external stimulus. Therapist directed lateral eye movements are the most commonly used external stimulus but a variety of other stimuli including hand-tapping and audio stimulation are often used. EMDR uses a three pronged protocol: (1) the past events that have laid the groundwork for dysfunction are processed, forging new associative links with adaptive information; (2) the current circumstances that elicit distress are targeted, and internal and external triggers are desensitized; (3) imaginal templates of future events are incorporated, to assist the client in acquiring the skills needed for adaptive functioning.

In terms of side effects.......as with any form of psychotherapy, there may be a temporary increase in distress.
1.distressing and unresolved memories may emerge
2.some clients may experience reactions during a treatment session that neither they nor the administering clinician may have anticipated, including a high level of emotion or physical sensations
3. subsequent to the treatment session, the processing of incidents/material may continue, and other dreams, memories feelings, etc., may emerge.

Hope this helps. For more info, this site is really good:
http://www.emdr.com/q&a.htm#q18