EMDR therapy for effective treatment of emotional trauma

Many people suffer from emotional trauma. When people don’t receive treatment for the emotional trauma they often experience depression, anxiety, panic, emotional numbness, loss of interest in activities, nightmares, and much more.

Fortunately, eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy for emotional trauma has proven successful for many people and allowed them to overcome trauma and lead a healthy life.

What is emotional trauma?

When people suffer from a single or a series of distressing events that affects them deeply, they can experience an emotional response known as trauma. Negative events that can result in emotional trauma include rape or other forms of sexual violence, horrific accidents, abuse during childhood, combat, natural disasters, and more.

Short-term reactions to trauma include sudden shock or denial, whereas long-term symptoms can manifest in the form of mood swings, flashbacks, relationship troubles, panic, and more. Emotional trauma can be categorised into two types: acute emotional trauma and chronic emotional trauma.

Symptoms of trauma

Whether you suffer from physical or emotional trauma, the symptoms of trauma can manifest in a number of ways. People who experience any kind of trauma often experience an adjustment disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The physical symptoms of emotional trauma include:

• changes in attitude, behaviour, attention, memory retrieval, concentration, and world view
• anger, depression, guilt, shame, and anxiety
• frequent mood swings
• denial
• social withdrawal
• emotional numbness
• a feeling of fear and helplessness
• dissociation
• emotional numbness

The psychological symptoms of emotional trauma include:

• nightmares
• fatigue
• increased heart rate
• sexual dysfunction
• jumpiness or feeling on edge
• appetite changes
• body aches or pain
• tense muscles

What is EMDR therapy?

Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) is a form of psychotherapy that uses rhythmic left-right (bilateral) simulation to help people overcome emotional trauma, negative experiences, and painful memories that cause post-traumatic stress.

EMDR therapy aims to trigger the traumatic experiences in small segments to allow you to process the painful emotions associated with traumatic memory including the sight, words, sounds, and smell triggers in a safe manner. The main objective is to change how the memory is stored in your brain in order to reduce or eliminate the negative symptoms.

It is also used to treat other forms of mental health conditions including depression, addiction, anxiety. phobias, eating disorders, panic attacks, chronic pain, and more.

How does EMDR therapy work?

Typically, the EMDR therapy treatment involves a total of six to 12 sessions where you have to visit the EMDR therapist once or twice a week. It involves eight phases that focus on the past, present, and future to help you unwrap the emotional trauma and learn the skills that will allow you to deal with present and future stress.

The phases of EMDR therapy include:

• Phase 1: history-taking
• Phase 2: preparation
• Phase 3: assessment
• Phase 4: desensitisation
• Phase 5: installation
• Phase 6: body scan
• Phase 7: closure
• Phase 8: re-evaluation

If you or your loved ones need to treat emotional trauma with EMDR therapy in Edgbaston, Birmingham, book an appointment with us today.