EMDR treatment for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) literally can save peoples’ lives.  I know because I’m one of the people whose life was saved by this breakthrough treatment.

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.  I was diagnosed with  PTSD about ten years ago.  I had been my daughter’s primary caregiver.  In 1994 when she was 19, she was diagnosed with leukemia and in 1995 had a bone marrow transplant. 

She had an extremely long, difficult recovery and I was having regular talk therapy to help me through this.  My very kind therapist said that it was clear we were getting nowhere and recommended I see a therapist for EMDR treatment.  That saved my life.  From the very beginning, I knew this was what I needed to help me cope with the many issues I had faced as a primary caregiver under such challenging circumstances. 

History of EMDR Treatment
Francine Shapiro, Ph.D, is the originator and developer of EMDR treatment, which she developed in 1995.  The main concept behind EMDR treatment and its beneficial effects begins with the belief that memory is stored in linked networks from the earliest related events and their associated effects on the person.  Memory networks are thought to contain thoughts, feelings, emotions and images related to specific events and that if information related to distressing or traumatic events is not processed, it is stored just as they were initially experienced.

Shapiro believes that these unprocessed experiences and emotions are the cause of many mental disorders, and that EMDR treatment can successfully help people to process these feelings.  EMDR therapy can help a person adapt better and learn from their experiences, rather than have the experience control their lives. 

Personal EMDR Treatment Experience
I can speak directly to this issue from my own experience.  As my daughter’s caregiver, I had to watch her undergo many painful procedures and endure many physical and emotional challenges.  In order to help her through this, I had to outwardly remain impassive and accepting of these changes.
   
Inside, however, I was screaming, crying and raging at what she had to endure.  Many of my initial sessions with EMDR treatment helped me to process what was actually going on inside me and thus be able to manage and cope with these unprocessed and unexpressed emotions. 

It is not clear how any form of therapy, including EMDR therapy, works in the brain.  What is known is that when a person is upset and/or traumatized, their brain cannot process in the usual way.  The traumatic or upsetting experience and emotion becomes “frozen in time” and just the memory of the trauma can feel as bad as the original experience.
 
A person can experience the same smells, sounds, images and emotions as if they were happening again.  These unprocessed memories can have a negative lasting affect and interfere with the way a person feels about themself, how they relate to other people and how they experience the world in general.

EMDR Sessions
Depending on the complexity and trauma a person experiences, PTSD can be managed and/or resolved with EMDR treatment in approximately 12 sessions.   It must be kept in mind, however, that the more complex the trauma, or trauma that occurred over an extended period of time, can mean that more sessions of EMDR treatment will be needed. 

In my personal case, I needed numerous sessions because the trauma I experienced as my daughter’s caregiver was over a period of many years and I was constantly being traumatized as she went through the transplant procedure and a very long, problematic recovery.  Also, I had been in regular talk therapy for a number of years and was getting NO results.  With the EMDR sessions I received, I began getting immediate results. 

In some ways, it’s like peeling an onion… the more trauma, the more layers to peel off.   It is also important to note that the patient during EMDR treatment is very pro active and the more willing the patient is to “re-experience” and “reprocess” their trauma, the more quickly it can be resolved and managed.  Sessions are usually once a week.

Sessions usually last about an hour.  Most sessions begin with the patient saying what they want to work on.  The therapist then asks on a scale of 1-10 how upsetting the memory is.  They both then begin the eye movements to work through whatever issue the patient is presenting with.  The therapist acts mostly as a guide helping the patient to move through the trauma.  Towards the end of the session, the therapist will usually go back to the presenting issue and ask again on a scale of 1-10 how the patient is feeling.  Successful sessions usually mean that the emotional “charge” of the memory is lessened or even completely gone. 

EMDR Cost
The cost of the EMDR treatment varies.  There are some therapists who use a sliding scale and some charge approximately $100/hr.  One of the best things someone can do is check out the EMDR Institute website to help them find a local therapist.  http://www.emdr.com/index.htm.  You want to be sure you are working with a trained therapist. 


Read how a special body painting served as PTSD therapy.

Successful EMDR Treatment
EMDR treatment appears to directly affect the way the brain processes information.  Following successful EMDR treatment, normal information processing can be resumed.  The person will still remember the incident or incidents, but they do not have the same emotional charge as they previously did. 

The butterfly image is one the author chose to symbolize the new hope she found after EMDR treatment.