International Therapy Center in Berlin
EMDR Therapy
EMDR therapy ( Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing ) uses a bi-alternating sensory stimulation (right-left) which is practiced by eye movements – the patient follows the fingers of the therapist who pass from right to left in front of his eyes – to treat psychotraumatic disorders.
The goal of EMDR is therefore to decrease the emotional load associated with a traumatic memory or difficult life event.
For nearly 30 years EMDR therapy has proven its efficacy through very numerous scientific studies carried out in place by researchers and clinical psychologists around the world. It is mainly validated for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is the scientific name of what is also more commonly known as psychotrauma . As such, EMDR therapy is recommended by many national and international public bodies (HAS in a 2007 report, WHO since 2013, INSERM e 2015 report).
How does an EMDR session work?
1st step
An EMDR treatment session last between 50 and 90 minutes.
In order to settle things down and be able to move forward safely afterwards, two or three preliminary sessions are necessary. During these first meetings with your psychologist, you will get to know yourself and you will explore in detail the problem that led you to consult.
Then, you will determine together the situation that you will treat with EMDR before moving on to the actual “desensitization” phase (bilateral stimulation).
Stabilization techniques will also be implemented. For example, you will be offered to establish an exercise in imagination called the “safe place”.
2nd step
Once stage 1 is complete, the desensitization phase can begin. It is then up to the brain to work, you have nothing to control.
Your therapist will move her fingers back and forth in front of your face and ask you to follow the movement with your eyes while reminding you of a difficult part of the event to process.
All of the difficult situations and triggers listed in step 1 will be reprocessed until you no longer feel the disturbance.
Desensitization sessions can sometimes be quite emtional moments. That’s why we’ll only move forward from that step when you safely decide to. We do it at your own pace.
If you feel the need to take a break from the desensitization sessions, you will always be welcome to let your therapist know, and we’ll pause from there.
3rd step
Once all the difficult situations and triggers have been dealt with, it is finally a question of reassessing whether the reprocessing has worked well and whether the desensitization is complete. If necessary, the targeted reprocessing of a particulat situation will be proposed.
EMDR has proven to be definitely efficient among most of our patients. This technique, discovered in 1987 by psychologist Francine Shapiro, has to date treated more than 2Mo patients around the globe, and widely recognized as a valid method for treating several traumas like PTSD .
Your international
therapy center in Berlin
Book a therapy or ask us a question by filling out the contact form
In case of emergency, contact your neighborhood Berliner Krisendienst or Sozialpsychiatrischer Dient (SPD).
Discover the site of Karla Bernat, founder of the therapy centrer and French psychologist in Berlin. Check out My International Therapy's website, the international version of Centre Pensées