Therapy of panic attacks using the DPDH method. V. Nadler DPDH: accelerated treatment of panic disorders

EMDR is a quick and painless method psychological assistance, thanks to which you can simply and reliably get rid of fears, anxiety, the consequences of trauma and a negative attitude towards life. Efficiency EMDR scientifically proven: through clinical studies and studies on MRI(Magnetic resonance imaging).

The basis of the method EMDR based on the idea of ​​bilateral stimulation:

• Movements eyeballs at a certain pace and according to a certain pattern, they stimulate the alternate work of different hemispheres of the brain.
• Rapid eye movements cause one or the other hemisphere to “turn on.”
• This alternating work has a positive effect on emotional condition, eliminating and reducing the negative impact of traumatic events, fears and experiences.

What is EMDR or EMDR?

During scientific research Scientists explained the phenomenon of the positive psychological impact of special eye movements using the model of adaptive information processing.

What model is this?

Let's say you carelessly touch a hot frying pan. It's painful and unpleasant. The memory of this event should do you good: you will become more careful, more prudent, more careful. Normally, this is adaptive, correct, processing of information. Stress, malaise and other factors reduce our adaptability, and then information is absorbed in a non-adaptive way. For example, we begin to be afraid of all frying pans, instead of adjusting our behavior based on experience.

Memory is a collection neural connections. It is believed that the memory of a traumatic event can be “encapsulated”: neurons form a capsule, and outside this capsule they do not interact. If the memory has been encapsulated, the slightest reminder of the traumatic event is enough to trigger a powerful, often destructive emotional reaction. This reminder is called a “trigger,” a trigger that takes us back to the original experience of pain, fear and disgust.

Let's give another example. It was raining, it was slippery, the man was in a hurry, as a result he slipped and fell, breaking his leg. The fracture has long since healed successfully, but as soon as it starts to rain, a wave of emotions hits a person: fear, strong pain, despair and feelings of helplessness. Perhaps, due to non-adaptive processing of information, a neural memory capsule of the fracture was formed, and the rain became a “trigger” that triggered a strong emotional reaction.

Specially organized eye movements provide safe bilateral stimulation of the brain hemispheres, due to which the neural memory capsule, which contains information about a tragic event or difficult experience, is destroyed. For simplicity, a neural memory capsule can be compared to a muscle spasm. EMDR helps break down this neural capsule, just like a good professional massage Helps relax muscles that have been compressed by spasms. EMDR is a kind of healing “massage for the soul” that removes pain and discomfort.

Who is EMDR suitable for?

EMDR copes well with:

• Fears
• Phobias
• Obsessive states
• Anxiety

• Fear of heights
• Fear of dogs
• Fear of driving
• Fear of flying on an airplane
• and many other fears

What will you get from EMDR (EMDR)?

Second effect EMDR– this is an increase in independence, freedom to choose. Thanks to EMDR, instead of reacting to a trigger, that is, a painful situation, in the way you are used to, for example, with tears or fear, you will be able to choose your reaction and your behavior. In situations that remind you of the trauma, you will feel stronger, more independent, because you will be able to easily control your behavior and act as you want, and not as the trauma “demands” of you.

In addition, you will receive a unique self-regulation tool. By using EMDR you will learn on your own, without the help of a psychologist, to put yourself in a resourceful state, to easily cope with the destructive influence of stress, sudden panic and a feeling of powerlessness. After the session EMDR you can always and everywhere quickly rely on your strengths, your assets and resources, and instantly feel a surge of strength, energy, calmness and enthusiasm.

EMDR Safety

Method EMDR has been used for thirty years. Its effectiveness is confirmed by controlled clinical studies and results MRI. Along with cognitive behavioral therapy, in the USA the EMDR method is considered the most effective in working with post-traumatic syndrome.

Application procedure EMDR standardized, refined and agreed upon by leading professionals in the field of psychological counseling. This provides additional security and guarantees results - EMDR is applied according to a protocol, that is, a certain scheme that all psychologists are required to follow.

How does an EMDR (EMDR) session work?

The earliest traumatic situation is found and the main work begins. Several series and sets are done, during each the client moves his eyes at a certain pace and according to a certain pattern. Between sets EMDR- a specialist helps you and monitors your condition using a therapeutic conversation. As a result, the neural memory capsule begins to dissolve, the tightness goes away, the severity of the reaction fades, and the attitude towards the problem situation changes.

At the end of the session, you learn to independently return to a comfortable, resourceful state. A comfortable state is a state of peace and balance, relaxation and harmony. All its power can be used for your benefit in your new life, without unnecessarily difficult experiences and uncontrollable emotional reactions.

Benefits of EMDR

EMDR not only destroys the neural capsule, helping you reduce the severity of negative experiences and get rid of fears. Thanks to EMDR inner work begins, EMDR stimulates a return to adaptive information processing and starts the process of its normalization.

Unfortunately, difficult experiences, difficult situations, fears and stress negatively affect our perception of ourselves, our self-esteem. We blame ourselves for what happened, scold ourselves, and gradually begin to feel worse about ourselves. EMDR helps restore self-esteem, strengthen self-esteem and eliminate negative beliefs about your abilities and character.

Another plus EMDR- this is short-termism. Significant result can be achieved extremely quickly: two to five sessions are enough. And sometimes alone.

Key words: emdr, dpdg, desensitization and processing by eye movements, method of desensitization using eye movements

deprogramming the subconscious, without dialogue with the subconscious, contact energy therapy techniques

Comments

• Description of the EMDR method

  EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Trauma Reprocessing) is a unique new psychotherapy technique that is extremely effective in treating emotional trauma. Psychotherapists all over the world today, in addition to classical methods, use it in working with those who have experienced emotional trauma, since with the help of EMDR it is possible to solve psychological problems much faster than with traditional forms of psychotherapy.

  Opening method:

  The origins of the EMDR technique stem from the chance observation of the calming effects of spontaneously repeated eye movements on unpleasant thoughts.

  EMDR was created by psychotherapist Francine Shapiro in 1987. One day, while walking through the park, she noticed that the thoughts that were bothering her suddenly disappeared. Francine also noted that if these thoughts were brought up again in the mind, they no longer had such a negative effect and did not seem as real as before. She noted that when disturbing thoughts arose, her eyes spontaneously began to move quickly from side to side and up and down diagonally. Then the disturbing thoughts disappeared, and when she deliberately tried to remember them, the negative charge inherent in these thoughts was greatly reduced.

  Noticing this, Francine began to make deliberate movements with her eyes, concentrating on various unpleasant thoughts and memories. these thoughts also disappeared and lost their negative emotional connotation.

  Shapiro asked her friends, colleagues and participants in psychological seminars to do the same exercise. The results were striking: anxiety levels decreased and people were able to more calmly and realistically perceive what was bothering them.

  This is how this new technique of psychotherapy was discovered by chance. In less than 20 years, Shapiro and her colleagues have specialized in the field of EMDR over 25,000 psychotherapists from various countries, which has made the method one of the fastest growing psychotechnologies around the world.

  Now Francine Shapiro works at the Institute for Brain Research in Palo Alto (USA). In 2002, she was awarded the Sigmund Freud Prize, the world's most important award in the field of psychotherapy.

  How does EMDR work?

  Each of us has an innate physiological mechanism for processing information that keeps our mental health at an optimal level. Our natural internal information processing system is organized in such a way that it allows it to restore mental health in the same way that the body naturally recovers from injury. So, for example, if you cut your hand, the body’s forces will be directed to ensure that the wound heals. If something prevents this healing - some external object or repeated trauma - the wound begins to fester and causes pain. If the obstacle is removed, the healing will be completed.

  The balance of our natural system Processing information at the neurophysiological level can be disrupted during trauma or stress that occurs during our lives. Thus, the natural tendency of the brain's information processing system to ensure a state of mental health is blocked. As a result, various psychological problems arise, since psychological problems are the result of accumulated nervous system negative traumatic information. The key to psychological change is the ability to perform the necessary processing of information.

  EMDR- This is a method of accelerated processing of information. The technique is based on the natural process of tracking eye movements that activate internal mechanism processing of traumatic memories in the nervous system. Certain eye movements lead to an involuntary connection to the innate physiological mechanism for processing traumatic information, which creates a psychotherapeutic effect. As traumatic information is transformed, there is a concomitant change in thinking, behavior, emotions, sensations, visual images person. Metaphorically speaking, we can think of the processing mechanism as a process of sort of “digesting” or “metabolizing” information so that it can be used for healing and improving a person’s quality of life.

  With the help of EMDR techniques, traumatic information is made available, processed and adaptively resolved. Our negative emotions are processed until they gradually weaken, and a kind of learning occurs that helps us integrate these emotions and use them in the future.

  The processing process can occur using not only eye movements, but also with the help of other external stimuli such as tapping the client's palm, flashing lights, or auditory stimuli.

  After just one EMDR session, a person can remember the traumatic event in a more neutral way, without intense emotions. People begin to perceive what happened more realistically and constructively and have a more positive attitude towards themselves: “I did everything I could”, “What happened in the past. Now I’m safe,” “I managed to save my life and that’s the main thing.” In addition to these positive changes in thoughts and beliefs, intrusive images of the traumatic event usually cease.

  Applications of EMDR

  EMDR successfully helps with self-doubt, increased anxiety, depression, phobias, panic attacks ah, sexual disorders, addictions, eating disorders- anorexia, bulimia and compulsive overeating.

  EMDR helps to normalize the condition of victims of attacks, disasters and fires.

  Reduces the experience of excessive grief associated with the loss of a loved one or the death of other people.

  EMDR therapy may target early negative childhood memories, later traumatic events, or existing currently painful situations.

  EMDR promotes emotional balance, the formation of adequate self-esteem, self-esteem and self-confidence.

• What is EMDR Therapy (EMDR)?

  We all sometimes feel “not okay”, while being in satisfactory physical condition. Some are even less fortunate: loneliness, fear, apathy or depression have long been woven into their usual way of life...

  But even from school we know that the source of most such troubles is in the psyche (soul) and its material substrate - the brain. And that to heal the soul and brain, humanity, in addition to religion and various spiritual practices, has created a whole branch of scientific knowledge - psychotherapy.

  More recently, one very good psychotherapeutic method has come to light: EMDR therapy, or EMDR. Let's try to find out what it is.

  EMDR – Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or in Russian – EMDR – Desensitization and Reprocessing (trauma) by Eye Movements

  History of EMDR

  The creator of EMDR therapy, psychologist Francine Shapiro, discovered in 1987 (through her personal example) that rhythmic eye movements + focusing on anxiety reduce its intensity(desensitization effect).

  Initially it was assumed that the scope of this phenomenon would not be wide. Maybe to help some clients experiencing acute stress calm down a little (instead of taking pills).

  If it were not for one curious detail: some “calmed down” in this way began to note not a fleeting improvement, but stable remission(read – recovery). Previously disturbing thoughts, images, memories and bodily sensations not only lost their negative character, but also quite quickly turned into a neutrally colored experience.

  Such results seemed exaggerated, to say the least. After all, it is well known that long-term psychotherapy, sometimes stretched over years, is required to process psychological trauma. (I can confirm this as a practicing psychologist and experienced Gestalt therapist).

  But the first one conducted by Francine Shapiro clinical trial The eye movement effect showed a significant reduction in trauma symptoms in a group of sexual assault survivors and Vietnam War veterans. Similar results were obtained in numerous subsequent studies.

  How does EMDR therapy work?

  Naturally, everyone was interested in how simple eye movements allow a person to recover amazingly quickly from the effects of stress and psychological trauma? And what prevented this from being achieved in other areas of psychotherapy?

  As you know, almost any information perceived by a person first “settles” in the brain and then undergoes a kind of “digestion.” This is based on a very complex physiological mechanism of formation nerve connections between brain cells - neurons.

  When a person experiences a certain traumatic event, distress, information about this is also stored in the brain, processed and turned into life experience.

  Example. Something bad happened to us - let's say, a humiliating situation arose at work. We are worried about it: we think about what happened, we talk about it, we dream about it. Over time, anxiety decreases, but we gain experience: we begin to better understand what happened, learn new things about ourselves and others, and also gain the ability to cope more effectively. similar situations in future.

  But what a shame! The mentioned processing of negativity may not happen. The most common reasons for this:
  • a traumatic event occurs in childhood when the brain does not have sufficient resources for successful processing;
  • the traumatic event is of a recurring nature;
  • the traumatic event is too painful for the body.
  And the brain, for the sake of maintaining mental health, can “go to extreme measures": push negative information far away, refusing to process it.

  Yes, it allows you to survive in times of distress. But also by-effect also present in the form of constant excitement individual areas brain (see picture). This is where nightmares, painful memories or intrusive thoughts– standard symptoms of PTSD. I am silent about how a person feels in situations that have at least some resemblance to a situation of trauma!

  

  Any psychotherapy is aimed at helping a person:

  a) “get” the existing negative from the unconscious;
  b) recycle it.

  But the brain “hid” all this not for its own entertainment. Therefore, the client often has to deal with the so-called “resistance”: the reluctance of the brain to stir up unpleasant experiences.

  In this regard, traditional areas of psychotherapy: psychoanalysis, Gestalt therapy, etc. resemble treatment at the dentist without anesthesia: recovery is possible, but the patient will have to “suffer” a lot. Taking medications (without psychological treatment) is similar to anesthesia, but without the treatment itself.

  In EMDR therapy these disadvantages are minimized. EMDR provides sufficient desensitization(decreased sensitivity), as a result of which the brain ceases to be “afraid” of re-starting the innate mechanism recycling stressful, traumatic information.

  And then the trauma-related information with each series of eye movements begins in an expedited manner move along neurophysiological pathways until its painless awareness and “dissolution” is achieved - integration with already existing positive information. As a result, the memory of the events remains, but the mental health disorder is neutralized.

  Benefits of EMDR Therapy

  The main advantages of EMDR include the short-term achievement of psychotherapy results and their stability. Please take a look at some of the results of recent clinical studies:
  • EMDR allows 77% of sufferers to get rid of symptoms of PTSD (single traumatic event) in 3-6 sessions;
  • victims of repetitive trauma (military veterans) can benefit from EMDR in 12 or more sessions;
  • many patients returned to symptoms after stopping the popular antidepressant Prozac, while the condition of patients after EMDR remains stable;
  • etc.
  Perhaps you will find a few more facts interesting:
  • National Council Mental Health(Israel) recommends EMDR (and 2 other methods) for treating victims of terrorism (2002);
  • The American Psychiatric Association recommends EMDR as a effective method treatment of mental trauma (2004);
  • The US Department of Defense and the US Department of Veterans have classified EMDR as highest category for the treatment of intense trauma (2004);
  • Among all psychotherapeutic methods, the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (UK) recognized only CBT and EMDR as empirically proven for the treatment of adults suffering from PTSD (2005).

  Indications for EMDR

  Currently, EMDR therapy is successfully used in working with various psychological problems:
  • self-doubt, increased anxiety, depression, phobias and panic attacks, sexual disorders, eating disorders;
  • experience acute grief associated with the loss or illness of a loved one, separation;
  • dissociative disorders;
  • fears in children;
  • PTSD in victims of attacks, disasters and fires;
  • and much more.

  Conclusion

  I don’t know whether to be happy or sad about this, but EMDR therapy is not suitable for everyone who applies. With every third client I work only in line with the good old gestalt.

  However, when EMDR is used, I continue to be amazed (as I was back in 2008 when I first experienced it myself).

  No, nothing supernatural is happening, everything is “as usual.” The client goes through the same natural phases of healing as, say, in Gestalt therapy. It is surprising to observe the change of these phases during one session, and not several months.

  What will you choose: psychotherapy lasting 10-20 sessions or therapy lasting 10-20 months? Probably the first one. Especially if they prove to you that the likelihood of achieving your goals is very high.

  This may be why, despite the abundance of different psychotherapeutic schools, EMDR therapy still managed to take its rightful place in the world of psychology.

• Description of the EMDR method (EMDR)

  You can conduct the session yourself.

  “The EMDR technique is based on a chance observation that was made in May 1987. One day, while walking in the park, I noticed that some thoughts that were bothering me suddenly disappeared. I also noticed that if I brought up these thoughts again in my mind, they no longer have such a negative effect and do not seem as real as before.

  Previous experience has taught me that all disturbing thoughts tend to form a kind of vicious circle - once they appear, they tend to return again and again until you make a conscious effort to stop them or change their character. What caught my attention that day, however, was that the thoughts that had been troubling me disappeared and changed their character without any conscious effort on my part.

  Amazed by this, I began to pay close attention to everything that was happening. I noticed that when disturbing thoughts arose, my eyes spontaneously began to quickly move from side to side and up and down diagonally.

  Then the thoughts that were bothering me disappeared, and when I deliberately tried to remember them, the negative charge inherent in these thoughts was significantly reduced.

  Noticing this, I began to make deliberate movements with my eyes, concentrating my attention on various unpleasant thoughts and memories. I noticed that all these thoughts also disappeared and lost their negative emotional connotation.

  Realizing all the potential benefits of this effect, I became very excited.

  A few days later, I tried to apply my discovery to other people: friends, colleagues and participants in psychological seminars that I was attending at the time. They had a large number of a wide variety of non-pathological complaints, just like, probably, all people.

  When I asked, “What would you like to work on?”, people usually talked about memories, ideas, or situations that were currently bothering them. Moreover, their complaints ranged widely from various humiliations in early childhood to the grievances currently experienced.

  Then I showed them how to quickly move their eyes from side to side, asking them to repeat these movements after me, focusing on their problems.

  First of all, I discovered that most people do not have voluntary control of the muscles responsible for eye movements and cannot continue these movements indefinitely.

  Intending to continue my research, I asked my friends to follow the movements of my finger with their eyes, moving my hand from side to side so that the eyes moved at approximately the same speed and in the same direction as during my first experiment in the park.

  This method turned out to be much more effective, but I noticed that although after this procedure people began to feel clearly better, they continued to remain fixated on the problems that were bothering them. To overcome this fixation, I tried to use Various types eye movements (faster, slower, in different directions), suggesting focusing on different things- for example, on various aspects their memories or on what feelings are associated with these memories.

  Then I began to study what forms of work could give best result, developing standard ways of starting and ending eye movement sessions that produce the greatest positive effect.

  After about six months, I developed a standard procedure that clearly resulted in fewer complaints. Because my focus from the very beginning was on the problem of reducing anxiety (as it was in my own experience), and my theoretical orientation at that time was primarily associated with a behaviorist approach, I called the procedure I discovered Eye Movement Desensitization (EMD).

  Fragment of an EMDR session

  The client's name is Eric, he is 39 years old and a programmer.

  Psychotherapist: Let's start by imagining the face of the person you consider an incompetent employee. Look at that face and feel how incompetent he is. How would you rate his incompetence, from 0 to 10 points?

  Eric: Seven points.

  [The client imagines the employee's face and gives an initial rating of seven points of incompetence on the Subjective Units of Concern Scale.]

  Psychotherapist: Focus on this feeling and follow my finger with your eyes (the client, under the guidance of the therapist, makes a series of eye movements). Fine. Now don't think about it; inhale and exhale. How are you feeling now?

  Eric: I don't know. I think I'm feeling a little better. Before coming here, I was working through some things, and finally today I realized... intellectual level... It's a job... you know, I don't meet the schedule, other people are unhappy, but... it always happens... I mean, in the computer business, someone is always late. So I started making some connections with all of this...

  [This is the first channel of information opened during an EMDR session. The therapist then decides to return to the original goal.]

  Psychotherapist: Fine. If you remember the employee's face again, how would you now determine the degree of his incompetence, from 0 to 10 points?

  Eric: I think five points.

  Psychotherapist: Hold this image (conducts another series of eye movements for the client). Fine. Now forget about it, take a breath and exhale. What happens now?

  [As we will see, the new channel opened precisely because the client returned to the original goal. The second channel indicates a chain of associative material connected by the idea of ​​“personal acceptance.”]

  Eric: I realized that my frustration was partly due to a difficult relationship with my boss, who was unable to appreciate the abilities of other people. I think I feel all of this a little better than others. But I think everyone would need to understand this. And until my boss recognizes my abilities, I will return again and again to the need to feel competent, as well as the need for other people to recognize my competence.

  Psychotherapist: Think about all this (does the next series of eye movements). Fine. Now forget about all this, take a breath and exhale. How would you rate how you feel now?

  Eric: Probably four or three points. Gradually, the realization comes to me that I don’t really need acceptance from other people. After all, I am already accepted by those who matter to me. But my boss is also one of these significant people, and I just don’t feel acceptance from him. Although this is, in essence, his problem, not mine (laughs).

  [At this point, the therapist using traditional approaches, it may be tempting to start a discussion with the client about how to help him change his relationship system. However, in the case of EMDR this is contraindicated.

  The therapist needs to ask the client to hold in his mind everything that he has just said, and then give him another series of eye movements to stimulate further processing. After this, the client will offer a new version of what is happening to him. As we will see, the client will reach a new plateau and the information will take on a more adaptive form.]

  Psychotherapist: Fine. Think about it (conducts another series of eye movements for the client). Fine. Now forget about it, take a breath and exhale. What's happening to you?

  Eric: I think I've had enough of accepting it. I don't need anymore. I understand that the boss needs me now, so I won’t be left without work. It suits me.

  Psychotherapist: Fine. Think about it (conducts another series of eye movements for the client). Now forget about everything and breathe deeply. How are you feeling now?

  Eric: It seems to me... that in a couple of months, the pressure of this whole situation of working to complete the project will ease, and he will clearly see...

  Psychotherapist: Fine. Keep all this in your mind (conducts another series of eye movements for the client). Fine. Now forget about everything, take a breath and exhale. What's happening to you?

  Eric: About the same.

  [When the client does not notice any changes and feels relatively comfortable, the therapist may conclude that the client has completely “cleared” this second channel and that it needs to be brought back to the original goal.]

  Psychotherapist: Fine. What happens if you fall back into the image of a person you perceive as incompetent? How are you feeling now?

  Eric: He worries me. I know that in the future I may experience frustration with this face again, but I think that it will not be as strong.

  [Note that although the client's anxiety level has decreased, it has not completely disappeared. During the next series of eye movements, the processing process stimulated information associatively hidden in the third channel. Here we find the influence of traumatic material associated with the Vietnam War: if anyone in Vietnam turned out to be incompetent, then this meant that such people were destined to die.]

  Psychotherapist: Now imagine his face again and feel the incompetence (conducts another series of eye movements for the client). Fine. Now forget about all this, take a breath and exhale. What do you feel?

  Eric: I realized that in this case the stakes, in general, are not so high. I understand that I’m right, and he’s simply incompetent in this area, he’s trying to mind his own business and ruining everything... (laughs). I think all this can be looked at from the other side...

  Psychotherapist: Indeed, you are right. Hold this in consciousness (carries out another series of eye movements). Fine. Now forget about all this, take a breath and exhale. How are you feeling now?

  Eric: Oh, it's so nice to know... it's so nice to think that the stakes aren't really that high and that all these relationships are like several computers connected... and that as a result of all this, no one will die because you You can't look at what's happening from the other side...

  Psychotherapist: Go back to this picture. What do you feel?

  Eric: The comedy of it all!

  [Since the two previous types of reaction were the same and the client felt relatively comfortable, the third channel could be considered cleared. After this, the original target was called again. Now it becomes obvious that the client's reaction to an incompetent employee has become completely different. Only after release from psychological pressure After the traumatic experience associated with Vietnam, the client began to respond to what was happening more calmly.]

  Psychotherapist: Yes.

  Eric: I realized that this employee is generally a great guy. Very capable. And when I look at the mistakes he makes, they seem funny and funny to me - we all made such mistakes in the beginning when trying to do similar work. You know how it is when a problem arises and you solve a small part of it. The problem may be huge, but you boldly dig: “Is the problem huge? It’s okay, I can do it!”, because in fact you only saw a piece of it (laughs). And because you're so excited about finding that piece, you decide that that's the whole problem... Other people can see it just as clearly, and often manage to deal with these things better. It's all quite funny... You know: “What do you want from him at his level?” It’s just that others tolerate it more easily, but everyone understands it, and when a person believes that he can solve every problem in the world, this is a kind of cunning and self-deception.

  Psychotherapist: Fine. Think about it (conducts another series of eye movements for the client). Now erase it all, inhale and exhale. How are you feeling now?

  Eric: About the same.

  Psychotherapist: Wonderful.

  Eric: Yes, I feel good. It turns out that it’s so nice to no longer feel annoyed, not feel angry, as I was last week. Then everything fell on me, and I felt completely powerless. I tried to get out, but I couldn’t.”

  P.S. You can move your fingers from right to left in front of your eyes, while imagining a traumatic situation.

Today I want to bring to your attention an amazing computer program that will help you get rid of many negative experiences and memories using a set of simple visual exercises.

Yes, yes, that's right: by doing visual exercises, you are freed from many dramatic incidents from your past. Fears disappear, painful memories leave, sad feelings dissipate, grievances melt, painful emotions disappear. This is amazing, isn't it?! Sit back and get ready to listen - you will find a story about how it all works, how it helps us.

This story began in 1987, when American psychotherapist Francine Shapiro, while walking in the park, discovered that some thoughts that were bothering her at that moment suddenly disappeared as if by themselves, and without any conscious effort on her part. But the most surprising thing was that when Francine returned to these thoughts, they no longer had the same negative impact on her as they had a few minutes ago.

Francine Shapiro

And this discovery made such a strong impression on her that she completely focused on her feelings, on what was happening, trying to find an explanation for this magical change in her consciousness.

“I noticed,” writes Shapiro, “that when disturbing thoughts arose, my eyes spontaneously began to move from side to side and up and down diagonally. Then the disturbing thoughts disappeared, and when I deliberately tried to remember them, the negative charge inherent in these thoughts turned out to be significantly reduced.

Noticing this, I began to make deliberate movements with my eyes, concentrating my attention on various unpleasant thoughts and memories. I noticed that all these thoughts disappeared and lost their negative emotional connotation.”

So, Shapiro made an interesting discovery, which told her that there was some obvious connection between eye movements and the intensity of negative experiences, and after a long theoretical and experimental study, she put forward a hypothesis that could explain the reason for the rapid release from negative emotions. And I wish I could especially emphasize that this hypothesis is in line with modern provisions O mental activity human, and is consistent with the main schools and theories in psychology: biochemical, behavioral, psychodynamic, etc.

According to modern concepts, the brain consists of countless individual neurons (mind and memory units, if you like). These neurons are connected to each other in chains, neural plexuses. These plexuses are also connected to each other, and, in general, all these connections and interconnections give rise to a neural network.

Neural chains perform a wide variety of tasks: like the shelves of a closet where you store certain things, neural chains also store some important information - and in one chain, for example, a memory of your first love is stored, in another a memorized poem, in a third - ability to add numbers, and so on.

If you watched the movie "Dreamcatcher", then you will remember this episode where our subconscious is presented in the form of a huge library. This is an interesting, but not very plausible comparison: our neural network is much more complex than any library, and if we imagine this network as a library, then the books must interact with each other. Because neural circuits are dynamically connected to each other. And, for example, the neural circuit of our first love is connected to another circuit about the first sexual experience. It is also connected with the chain about the first date, with the chain about the first awareness of one’s feelings.

Hundreds, thousands, millions various combinations and combinations. The more connections there are between neural chains, the more flexible the brain works, the more resources are used to solve a particular problem. And, on the contrary, the fewer connections a chain has, the more difficult it is to interact with it.

If a neural chain is a certain problem of ours, and this chain does not have a sufficient number of neural connections, then this problem will be very difficult to solve, because all our experience, all our skills, experiences and abilities are not used in solving this problem.

F. Shapiro's method (Desensitization and processing of trauma by eye movements, or EMDR) is based on the position that traumatic events lead to the appearance of autonomous isolated neural chains of traumatic experience in the neural network. On the way between the traumatic chain and other parts of the neural network, a barrier is formed that prevents not only the “exchange of experience” between them, but also contact with them in general.

And to be more precise, it looks like this: “having started,” the chain forms a series of contact chains, or associative channels, through which it receives significant information. And this chain is strictly focused on receiving only those stimuli that restimulate it. Any other potential contact (let’s assume this is a chain with useful experience, that “every cloud has a silver lining”) is fundamentally blocked.

Let's look at this with an example. Let's say a woman has experienced drama, her loved one has left her. A traumatic neural chain appears in the neural network, and, on the one hand, it “sticks” to all other chains that activate its work, and, on the other hand, it is delimited, isolated by a biochemical barrier on the way to the formation of connections with other parts of neural experience.

And this neural chain of trauma begins to work like a nipple, strictly in one direction: everything that reminds her of the trauma, she easily misses, and everything that can alleviate her suffering is hindered.

As a result, over a long period of time this “nodule” of injury is subject to constant restimulation. The house, photographs, dishes, conversations of loved ones, bed, certain hours of the day, things, TV, furniture, the road to work - everything constantly reminds her of what happened, memories constantly “pile up”, constantly the same painful thoughts and emotions. And at the same time, everything that is “in the other direction” does not lead to results: reassuring loved ones only provokes tears, the psychotherapist’s speeches do not help in any way, sedatives They cause disgust, time “does not heal”, everything and everyone is sickening to look at.

And all this happens because the traumatic experience is alienated from the resources of the neural network, but is selectively connected only to those areas (associative channels) that enhance its reactivity. That is why sometimes a person experiencing drama is said to be “clinging to his grief.” But, in fact, he is not to blame for anything, and he himself suffers the most from this. He suffers much more than he could suffer if all parts of the experience of the neural network were fully included in his emotional state.

A reasonable question arises: if such an organization of neural traumatic experience occurs without any conscious (or even unconscious) human participation, and is unjustifiably one-sided and harmful, then why did nature create this mechanism? What's the point? After all, there is no benefit, but only harmful harm. And why was such meanness invented in our body?!

And the meaning, my friends, is very, very simple. The thing is that such an organization is entirely focused on the bodily experience of existence. In the experience of any creature, a single traumatic experience (bodily trauma of any origin) must be remembered for the rest of its animal life in order to be guaranteed to avoid it when repeated.

Learning should always be done the first time - Once and for all. And if, for example, a young fox pricks himself on the hedgehog’s needles, then he will no longer approach the hedgehog. A “prickly hedgehog” neural chain appears, which works strictly in one direction: and, on the one hand, our little fox will now never forget about the dangers of hedgehogs, and, on the other hand, he will never have the theory that “a hedgehog is a bird.” proud", and the like. The hedgehog is an enemy, a danger, period. And no options.

Alas, as the psychological component of life becomes more complex (to the level where the psychological can dominate over the physical, will over reflex, and logic over instinct), the process of formation of harmful traumatic neural “sores” (but now these are often not physical injuries, but psychological ones) hasn't changed a bit.

And if a negative experience has occurred, then the principle of formation of a neural chain is no different from a fox’s reaction to a hedgehog. The only difference is that the fox cub has a reaction only at that moment in time when the hedgehog is present in his field of vision. The only difference is that in humans the associative channels that restimulate the painful chain are hundreds and thousands of times more perfect and diverse than in any animal, and the restimulations themselves after a traumatic event acquire a landslide, obsessive and chronic character.

F. Shapiro discovered that spontaneous (or forced) eye movements break the barriers between “bad” neural experiences and the rest of the neural network. And by turning to various parts of his neural (and, in particular, sensory) experience, a person “connects” the traumatic chain to the general neural network, which gives very quick relief.

For now, in the process of his experience of trauma, sources of saving information are connected, which were previously tightly isolated.

That is why, as Shapiro writes, with the deliberate repetition of any disturbing thoughts, it is discovered that they no longer have the negative power that they had before.

It is noteworthy that there is one type of mental activity when the EMDR method proposed by Shapiro works as if by itself: this is sleep and dreaming. During sleep, there is a repeating phase of rapid eye movement (REM), when the sleeper's eyeballs literally begin to “dart” from side to side. As soon as this happens (and this happens several times in one dream), the person absolutely sees the dream. It can be assumed that processes similar to EMDR occur in a dream: healing, resourceful experiences from other parts of the neural network are added to the traumatic experience. Thus, we can say that sleep is a spontaneous form of psychological self-healing.

Unfortunately, just as spontaneous is the formation of rigid patterns of negative experience, expressed in the fact that a traumatic experience of any kind is accompanied by the direction of the gaze at one point. And it doesn’t matter where this point is, on the right or left, above or below, diagonally up or down - the only thing that matters is that our gaze returns to this starting point again and again, and this makes our experience worse. But if, as Shapiro suggested, you force your gaze to any other point, then the strength of the negative experience immediately weakens.

But this is not the most important thing. For a person, no matter what state he is in, cannot think about the same thing all the time, it is impossible. One way or another, he is distracted, something distracts him, he changes his point of view and is temporarily freed from negative emotions.

But as soon as the external stimulus weakens, thoughts (and gaze) immediately return to their original position, like a tumbler doll. This means that a simple switch will not be enough; more subtle work is needed: to shift a person’s gaze while preserving his thoughts and feelings about the negative experience. And if a certain direction of gaze is a certain concentration of experience, then, by forcing a person to think in any other direction of gaze, we give him a chance to use unused resources that were blocked by the traumatic chain.

EMDR therapy

This is how the EMDR method came about - desensitization and processing of trauma with eye movements. And if you are interested in this method, you can read Shapiro’s book about it, the book is called: “Psychotherapy of emotional trauma using eye movements.” This book was published by the publishing house "Klass", and, if desired, it can be found. This is a very serious and thorough work describing the basic principles, protocols and procedures of EMDR.

And today we also have at our disposal a special EMDR computer program called “Eye Movement Integrator”, developed (using the method of Frances Shapiro) by psychologist Natalya Doroshenko.

Eye movement integrator

The program will be of interest, first of all, to practicing psychotherapists and doctors, managers medical institutions, rehabilitation centers for post-traumatic syndromes (Chechen, Afghan) - and all those who, as part of their duty, have to work with traumatic experiences of different “nature” and gravity.

The Eye Movement Integrator program consists of two parts: an introductory block, where you will receive instructions on how to work with the program, and a therapeutic block, where traumatic experience is processed.

At the initial stage, the introductory part will be necessary for familiarization, and I strongly recommend reading the entire course of instructions from beginning to end, and answering all the questions posed by the program. And after the introductory part is over and you are completely ready to perform the exercises, the program will smoothly take you to the beginning of the first session.

Upon entering your therapeutic field, you will see as if the night sky and the points of stars moving on it. At the bottom of the screen, where you're used to seeing the Control Panel button and the Start button, you'll find a row of buttons that help you set up your therapy session.

Setting the Frame

Briefly, the essence of the therapeutic process can be expressed as follows: you remember your problem (you will be instructed in more detail about this in the introductory part), and after that you mentally place it inside the geometric figure you have chosen.

Control Panel

There are no recipes as to which figure is best to choose for a session: your intuition itself will tell you which figure is best suited to solve a particular problem.

Once a shape is selected, it will appear in the center of the screen. Now you can further customize it to your taste. First, you can change the thickness of the shape's frame. Secondly, you can change the fill color of the selected shape, and increase or decrease the size of the shape itself.

After all preparations for the session are completed, we can begin our first healing session.

So, we'll start: we place our problem inside the selected figure, and launch our session (the "Select Session" button on the panel). And after that, for 15 minutes we just have to follow the movements of the selected figure with our eyes, mentally keeping our problem inside it. Forget about everything, organize everything so that you will not be disturbed for at least one hour, and focus completely on this process.

moving figure

There are four sessions in total, each of them will make the figure move in a certain sequence.

For example, in the first session the figure will move from left to right and from right to left. In the second session, it will either move away from you or come closer. Each EMDR session uses unused brain resources; with every minute of the session, more and more neuron friends will come to your aid.

After the first exercise, you will be able to detect significant changes in your sensations, in your experiences, in your thoughts and feelings.

At the end of each session, the program will ask you to comprehend all the changes that occurred BEFORE the session and those that occurred AFTER.

Download program

You can download "Integrator" in the computer programs catalog.

Related articles Psychological tests Psycholinguistic programs

1987. Experiencing a difficult period in life ( cancer, divorce from her husband), American psychologist Francine Shapiro experienced real suffering: she was tormented by obsessive fears and nightmares. One day, while walking in the park, she noticed that rapid movements of her eyes from left to right alleviated her condition. She continued research that confirmed that the method helps with post-traumatic stress. Shapiro defended her dissertation on the topic of EMDR, and in 2002 received the Sigmund Freud Prize, the most prestigious award in the field of psychotherapy.

Definition

EMDR is a psychotherapeutic technique used in the treatment of emotional trauma. It is designed primarily for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, addiction syndrome, or depression caused by the loss of a loved one. At the moment of trauma (accident, terrorist attack, natural disaster, physical or moral violence), the human brain remembers all the details related to this event. Memories of them continue to haunt him, driving him out of his mind. peace of mind. EMDR helps clients improve their condition by identifying feelings and images associated with the painful experience of trauma and changing their perception of the event.

Operating principle

The EMDR method is based on the neurological concept of psychological trauma and allows you to accelerate healing through words. A traumatic event blocks the processes of self-regulation of the psyche: images, sounds or bodily sensations associated with a painful experience seem to “get stuck” in it, so that the person again and again experiences horror, pain, fear and helplessness. Eye movement helps synchronize the rhythms of the brain hemispheres. And eye movements from side to side cause alternate activation of the hemispheres and synchronous processing of information. Natural self-regulation processes are restored, and the brain completes its work on its own.

Progress

After explaining the action plan to the client, the psychotherapist invites him to first think about something good. Next, a “target” is selected: some event from the past that haunts him, or a current situation that serves as a subject of concern (phobia or anxiety attacks). Focusing on the painful situation, the client concentrates his gaze on the therapist's hand moving from left to right. During each session, he must follow 15 such rhythmic movements, wide and precise (the span is about 1 m). In pauses between exercises, you can talk about this event and evaluate the intensity of the emotion experienced about it. Classes are held until the client notices a decrease in the severity of the experience. During the procedure, the specialist also helps to form new, positive images instead of those associated with the injury. The memory of the trauma does not disappear, but it ceases to hurt the person.

Indications for use

For those who experience severe post-traumatic stress (after a terrorist attack, violence or disaster), as well as in cases where a past event has left a painful memory. This technique can also help with disorders such as drug addiction, anorexia or depression. Contraindications: severe mental states, some heart and eye diseases.

How long? What is the price?

EMDR is often used in combination with other techniques and can help relieve stress and speed up the healing process. EMDR is not used when first meeting a client; it is necessary to first obtain an understanding of the patient's history and the nature of symptoms. Sometimes one session of EMDR is enough. The session lasts 1 hour and costs from 1500 rubles

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) or EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), also better known as the Shapiro method, is fast, unique, and most importantly - reliable method get rid of mental trauma, stress, etc. EMDR involves getting rid of old traumas, anxiety, bad mood or other psychological problems by moving the eyeballs in a specific direction and under specific conditions.

Discovery of a unique technique

The method of desensitization and processing by eye movements was discovered by the American doctor of psychological sciences Francine Shapiro. Having cancer, which suddenly overtook her, she stopped experiencing the joy of life. The woman no longer felt desire or zeal for anything, and she was overcome by deep depression. One day, while walking, quite by accident (like most outstanding discoveries), the doctor noticed that moving her eyes allowed her to forget about bad thoughts, and her mood becomes much better.

Having become interested in this phenomenon, Frances began to conduct experiments and work on this theory. Later, the effectiveness of the method was confirmed through clinical and psychological studies. As a result of numerous experiments, the phenomenon of the positive impact of special eye movements on the emotional and mental state has been proven through the model of the so-called “adaptive information processing”.

What is the essence of this model?

The body's adaptive processing of information becomes significantly worse under the influence of stress.

Suppose, due to carelessness, a person accidentally spilled hot tea on himself, which caused pain and discomfort. Mechanical memory works to ensure that this does not happen again in the future, therefore, the person will be more careful. This is how a mechanism called adaptive information processing works. But stress, frustration and other emotional stimuli reduce adaptability. As a result, the functioning of this mechanism becomes worse, and the person, instead of behaving more carefully, begins to be panicky about all the hot cups.

Memory, as a sum of neural connections, has the ability to “encapsulate” memories, and neurons cannot interact outside the boundaries of this shell. As a result, the mechanism of human memory will only need a hint of a difficult memory, and it will flare up with a new force of emotional instability. This phenomenon is called a “trigger” - something that returns a person to pain and unpleasant sensations that he experienced.

Special movements of the eyeballs stimulate the brain hemispheres, which helps destroy the neural memory capsule associated with difficult memories or psychological trauma. Eye movement desensitization is often compared to a massage, which relaxes the connections between neurons and the tight muscle.

In what cases is it used?

Eye movement desensitization is effective for a person who has experienced emotional instability or stress. The technique will help you forget and even reconfigure thoughts from painful ones to positive ones, regardless of whether the person survived the war or is simply in a bad mood.

Positive results The technique brings in the treatment of such patients:

• rape victims;
• participants in hostilities;
• victims of natural disasters;
• patients with dissociative disorders.

It also eliminates such primitive mental problems as:

• Bad mood;
• anxiety;
• depression;
• fears.

How is EMDR treatment performed?

The foundation of the method is the concept of bilateral stimulation - the movement of the eyeballs according to a pattern that at the same pace promotes the alternate work of both hemispheres of the brain. Such alternating work has a positive effect on the emotional and mental state, making you forget about traumatic events from the past, depression, fears, or even look at previously painful situations from a different perspective, positive side, learn lessons and take it as a life experience.

“It happens that some force seems to push us out of our usual life, forcing us to change,” says Francine Shapiro. “But changes can be so abrupt and tragic, as happened to me, that we ourselves are not able to cope with them.”

At the age of 36, Francine, having barely defended her doctoral dissertation in English literature, learned that she had cancer. Surgery, divorce from husband, long treatment- all these events changed her life forever. The disease subsided, but Francine seemed frozen between life and death: she was tormented by constant fears and obsessive anxious thoughts, haunted by nightmares at night, and during the day everything fell out of her hands.

One day, while walking in the park, she noticed that some thoughts that constantly bothered her had disappeared. Focusing on them again, Francine realized... that she wasn't scared!

As a result of the exercise, the level of anxiety decreased, people were able to perceive what was bothering them more realistically

“I was amazed: as soon as I returned to my anxious thoughts, my eyes began to involuntarily move from side to side and diagonally up and down,” she recalls. - When I moved them intentionally, the pain from difficult memories disappeared. Furthermore, feelings and thoughts like “I’m powerless”, “there’s something wrong with me” were replaced by others: “this is all in the past”, “I have a choice”.

Shapiro asked friends, colleagues, and participants in a psychology seminar she was attending to do the same exercise. The results were striking: anxiety levels decreased and people were able to perceive what was bothering them more realistically. So, by chance, in 1987, a new psychotherapy technique was discovered.

This event prompted Francine Shapiro to pursue a degree in psychology and pursue a dissertation in clinical psychology. For several years now she has been working at the Institute for Brain Research in Palo Alto (USA). In 2002, she was awarded the Sigmund Freud Prize, the world's most important award in the field of psychotherapy.

Detailed description of a unique psychotherapeutic technique - EMDR techniques, especially effective in the treatment of emotional trauma, Shapiro gave in the book “Psychotherapy of emotional trauma using eye movements. Basic principles, protocols and procedures.”

What is EMDR

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Trauma Processing) is a psychotherapeutic technique that is most often used in the treatment of emotional trauma. Eye movements trigger the process of natural healing of the human psyche. Since the traumatic event blocks her self-regulation processes, feelings, images, and thoughts associated with the painful experience seem to “get stuck” in her. And thanks to EMDR, they begin to be processed faster.

EMDR as a way to work with trauma

Francine Shapiro called her technique “Eye Movement Desensitization and Trauma Processing Technique” (EMDR). The word “desensitization” can be translated as “removal of sensitivity.” Psychotherapists all over the world today, in addition to classical methods, use it in working with those who have experienced emotional trauma, sexual violence, the horrors of war, have been victims of a terrorist attack, natural disaster, or have seen the death of other people.

“Such situations go beyond the ordinary experience of a person,” explains psychotherapist Natalya Rasskazova. “If such a traumatic event happened at a time when a person was especially vulnerable, his psyche cannot cope with this experience on its own.”

Months and even years later, he may be haunted by intrusive thoughts and painful memories. Their images are so vivid that every time a person feels the realism of what is happening: he not only remembers, but again and again experiences the same horror, pain, fear and helplessness. EMDR technique in just a few sessions it can improve your condition. It also helps in the treatment of various phobias, addictions, depression, anorexia and even schizophrenia. initial stage of this disease. There are few contraindications: severe mental conditions, some heart and eye diseases.

How to use EMDR at work

Directed eye movement is the basis of this technique. “Most of us have difficulty voluntarily controlling the muscles responsible for eye movements,” explains Francine Shapiro. “It’s easier to continue these movements while concentrating your gaze on the therapist’s hand.” He usually holds his fingers, pencil or ruler vertically at a distance of 30–35 centimeters from the patient's face. He, concentrating on a painful memory or sensation and without interrupting the story, simultaneously follows the therapist’s hand with his eyes.

Artem is 22 years old, ten years ago he was walking in the park with his mother and brother when they were attacked by hooligans. “All these years I was tormented by terrible memories,” says Artem, “and I had the same nightmare: I’m trying to run away from something terrible, but I can’t budge and I feel like I’m falling into some deep, narrow hole ... I began to avoid communicating with new people, it seemed to me that everyone was looking at me with condemnation, as if they were saying: “You are a nonentity, you could not protect yourself and your family.”

Thanks to the EMDR technique, memories are no longer accompanied by strong negative emotions

During the first meeting, the psychotherapist asked Artem to remember the most terrible episode from that tragic day - when one of the attackers pulled out a knife. “I focused on this scene, following with my gaze the wand that the therapist passed in front of my eyes from left to right. It seemed that I was about to start suffocating, as it had been before, but I kept seeing the therapist’s hand, and it seemed to be holding me. A few minutes later, the therapist asked again about what I was seeing and feeling. I described the same scene again, but felt that the previous emotions had disappeared: I wasn’t in so much pain.”

“There is no magic here,” explains Natalya Rasskazova. - Artem continues psychotherapy, but the first meetings at which the therapist worked using the EMDR technique made it possible to relieve the severity of the experience: within a few sessions the perception of what happened to him changed. His feeling of “I am a coward and a nonentity” was replaced by the confidence: “There is no shame in surviving.” Thanks to the EMDR technique, a tragic event becomes one of the many facts of a person’s life, memories are no longer accompanied by strong negative emotions.

If working with the eyes is difficult

For some eye conditions (for example, severe myopia) or in situations where watching the therapist's hand is associated with traumatic memories (for example, being hit in the face by parents as a child), the therapist uses tapping on the hand or sounds as a stimulus. . Tapping on the hand is performed as follows: the patient sits down with his hands on his knees, palms up. The therapist (with one or two fingers) alternately taps them rhythmically. With sound stimulation, he snaps his fingers in one or the other client's ear at approximately the same speed as during a series of eye movements.

How EMDR works

There is no clear answer to why this technique is so effective. Psychologists and neuroscientists study and test several hypotheses.

The first of them is a model of accelerated information processing. Francine Shapiro suggests that the mind, like the body, has an innate ability to self-regulate.

“The brain involuntarily processes all the information about what is happening to us, what worries and worries us,” explains Natalya Rasskazova. - It encodes the data, neutralizes it and sends it for storage. This allows the psyche to adapt to the most different situations. But physical and mental trauma and stress block the processes of natural self-regulation. Emotions, images, thoughts, sensations associated with painful memories seem to be stuck in memory as they were at the time of the traumatic events. As a result, a person not only cannot forget them, but it becomes difficult for him to remember his positive feelings.”

Eye movements activate natural healing within the body itself: they trigger processes that unblock neural networks brain, in which the traumatic experience is “stored”, and it begins to be rapidly processed.

Eye movements from side to side cause alternate activation of the hemispheres and synchronous processing of information

Francine Shapiro does not rule out that the EMDR technique also activates processes in the brain that occur in it during the “ REM sleep", which is accompanied by active eye movement. At this moment, the brain processes information received during wakefulness and stores it in memory.

In addition, research shows that the EMDR technique synchronizes the rhythms of the brain hemispheres.

“They process emotions differently,” continues Natalya Rasskazova. - Left hemisphere deals with what causes positive emotions, the right one processes negative experiences. If we direct our gaze to objects located to our right, this will cause a more positive emotional response than fixing our gaze on objects located to our left. And eye movements from side to side cause alternate activation of the hemispheres and synchronous processing of information.”

Controversy surrounding EMDR

Since its inception, the EMDR technique has been the subject of active scientific controversy.

“Many specialists find it difficult to accept that our brain can be “rebooted,” explains Jacques Roque, vice-president of the French association of psychotherapists who practice EMDR. Until now, psychoanalysts and psychotherapists have assumed that only words spoken by one person and heard by another can heal.

ABOUT psychological problems they spoke only in terms of meanings: for those who experienced trauma, it was an encounter with death. But today we understand that the biological work of the brain plays a vital role in healing: the psyche is inseparable from its neurological “carrier.” Information processing can be restarted, sometimes in exotic ways that contradict the conventional wisdom that healing takes time. Maybe we just find it difficult to accept that our brain, like any computer, can be reprogrammed?

Who can use this technique at work?

As with any psychotherapy, the client's condition may change between sessions. Memories of other unpleasant events, for example, from early childhood, may “pop up” in him. That is why only psychotherapists or clinical psychologists should use the EMDR technique, who can, if necessary, provide emergency assistance, including medical.

“But even a well-trained practitioner cannot guarantee success when using EMDR techniques with every person,” cautions Francine Shapiro. - It is not a panacea and is most often used in combination with other methods of therapy. But, of course, EMDR helps to relieve the severity of the experience in just a few meetings.”