A few months ago, I was watching Law & Order: SVU. In this particular scene, Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) sits across from her therapist. The therapist holds her finger in front of Olivia’s eyes and moves it back and forth while talking about stressful situations like you would in a regular therapy session. What’s all that about, I thought. A quick Google search told me I was watching an EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) session, a type of psychotherapy that’s primarily us
Holistic Marriage And Family Therapist Joins The Insight Treatment Center Radio Show hometownstation.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from hometownstation.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Dr. Vaile Wright, the senior director of the American Psychological Association, said that EMDR works by using bilateral stimulation movements that occur in a rhythmic patten, going from left to right like horizontal eye movements. In the series, Harry is shown tapping on his shoulders, which Wright said is also an option. What makes (EMDR) kind of unique is that it uses bilateral stimulation . done in thirty-second sets while the client simultaneously is focusing on aspects of a maladaptive memory, said Wright. The therapy really focuses on processing a memory while you re engaging in some sort of task.
Wright said that the therapy is supposed to make the traumatic memories less vivid and emotional and is supposed to facilitate physiological relaxation. The treatment is also supposed to increase cognitive flexibility, and during the treatment, the client and their doctor will discuss the maladaptive memory, possible triggers and ways to deal with those triggers. Wright