EMDR

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences. Often people will feel 'stuck" and "talk therapy" isn't resolving anything. Talk therapy and straight cognitive approaches work primarily with the neocortex. Interventions such as EMDR, that involve action(any type of bilateral or dual attention engagement qualifies) use of all sensory channels, somatic awareness and the use of breath, are more likely to work with the whole brain, promoting connections needed for healing and shifts in how memories are stored. It is widely assumed that severe emotional pain requires a long time to heal. EMDR therapy shows that the mind can in fact heal from psychological trauma much as the body recovers from physical trauma. When you cut your hand, your body works to close the wound. If a foreign object or repeated injury irritates the wound, it festers and causes pain. Once the block is removed, healing resumes. EMDR therapy involves obtaining a target, getting some activation (no re-traumatization of chronological events) and the body and demonstrates that a similar sequence of events occurs with mental processes. The brain’s information processing system naturally moves toward mental health. If the system is blocked or imbalanced by the impact of a disturbing event, the emotional wound festers and can cause intense suffering. Once the block is removed, healing resumes. For more information on EMDR, visit

EMDR Institute

, the Institute of Creative Mindfulness. There are several useful UTube videos as well as seen by Jamie Mariach.