EMDR Therapists in London at Harley Therapy

EMDR, or ‘eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing’, is a unique and interactive brain training therapy that is evidence-based and recommended by both the NHS and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

Also called 'rapid eye movement therapy', it is designed specifically to free you from the emotional charge of traumatic experiences, leaving you resilient and able to move on.

EMDR engages your brain in sensory stimulations at the same time as you are guided through talking about difficult past events. This can mean things like following a light or moving pencil with your eyes, or listening to alternating beeps.

While it might at first sound odd, research suggests that these types of distractions cause a loosening of negative 'stuck' memories and the emotional charge they hold. Memories can then be reregistered as less vivid, or 'desensitised'

You don’t even have to get into great detail about the experience for it to work, which means EMDR can be effective even if you don't like to talk about your past. [1].

*[1] How eye movements affect unpleasant memories: Support for a working-memory account. Gunter R.W., Bodner G.E. (2008) Behaviour Research and Therapy, 46 (8) , pp. 913-931.

Worried about the dangers of EMDR therapy? Like any sort of talk therapy, you might feel emotionally drained and vulnerable after. Or like you need some time to yourself, much like you would after sharing a long held secret with a friend. But otherwise, eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing is a completely safe experience.