Overcoming the effects of trauma
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing. It is a unique, powerful therapy that helps people recover from problems triggered by traumatic events in their lives. It stops difficult memories causing so much distress by helping the brain to reprocess them properly.
EMDR is best known for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and it can also help with a range of mental health conditions in people of all ages.
Please note, various media coverage is shown here in order to share with you many different people’s experiences of EMDR treatment. For authoritative descriptions and definitions of the therapy please return to this site as the EMDR Association is not responsible for third party content.
In partnership with the EMDR Association, the charity Trauma Response Network has 300 volunteer EMDR therapists offering free therapy online in response to the Covid-19 outbreak. NHS and key workers are being prioritised, but it is open to anyone severely traumatised by the pandemic. Sean Gardner, a businessman caught up in the Manchester Arena bombing founded Trauma Response Network together with EMDR therapists, to provide ‘mental health first aid’ in the aftermath of a mass trauma event. There are links to Manchester Evening News who covered the story below and a clip from Sky News.
Sky news TRN VIDEO-2020-04-14-13
A woman describes how EMDR helped her on the road to recovery from PTSD caused by the violence she suffered as a very young child growing up in the Ukraine.
A Canadian journalist describes how effective she found EMDR for the issues she was dealing with, and gives some background to the therapy.
Medical TV series ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ takes EMDR as a storyline: the writer and producer gives an interview to explain why.
A programme about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder on Radio 4’s You and Yours highlights that EMDR is a first line treatment and includes several calls from listeners who benefited from the therapy.