EMDR
Eye movement therapy
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, a psychotherapy technique used primarily to treat trauma and PTSD.
The therapist guides the patient to recall distressing memories while following a moving stimulus—typically the therapist's finger moving side to side—with their eyes.
The bilateral stimulation is thought to help the brain reprocess traumatic memories, reducing their emotional intensity.
After six EMDR sessions, she could finally talk about the accident without panic.
Lasting psychological wound
- processingSystematic operation on data
- reprocessingHandling material again
- bilateralInvolving two parties
- desensitizationReduced response over time
psychotherapy · PTSD · sessions · clinician · protocol · phases · adaptive · installation
Involuntary vivid memory episodes
- nightmaresTerrifying sleep experiences
- triggersCauses or activates
- phobiasIrrational intense fears
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
grief · panic · dissociation · hypervigilance · avoidance
Shift in gaze direction
- tappingRepeated light striking
- trackingMonitoring location over time
- lightbarVehicle-mounted warning lights
- alternatingOccurring in turns
buzzers · headphones · tactile · rhythmic
Emotion-processing brain cluster
- hippocampusMemory formation region
- REMAcronym for dreaming phase
- reconsolidationMemory re-storage after recall
- fight-or-flightAcute threat reaction
trauma
Lasting psychological wound
- processingSystematic operation on data
- reprocessingHandling material again
- bilateralInvolving two parties
desensitization · psychotherapy · PTSD · sessions · clinician · protocol · phases · adaptive · installation · integration
flashbacks
Involuntary vivid memory episodes
- nightmaresTerrifying sleep experiences
- triggersCauses or activates
- phobiasIrrational intense fears
anxiety · grief · panic · dissociation · hypervigilance · avoidance
eye-movement
Shift in gaze direction
- tappingRepeated light striking
- trackingMonitoring location over time
- lightbarVehicle-mounted warning lights
alternating · buzzers · headphones · tactile · rhythmic
amygdala
Emotion-processing brain cluster
- hippocampusMemory formation region
- REMAcronym for dreaming phase
- reconsolidationMemory re-storage after recall
fight-or-flight · arousal · interhemispheric · dysregulation
- mental healthpsychiatry, psychotherapy, mental illness, psychiatrist, therapist
- mental wellnessmental health support, self-care, mental wellness, emotional wellness, coping skills
- therapypsychotherapy, therapist, session, counselor, group therapy
- counselingpsychotherapy, family therapy, group therapy, counselor, individual counseling
- recoveryrecovery, sobriety, rehab, recover, recovery room
- treatmentstreatment, treatments, medication, medicine, therapies
EMDRtalk therapy
Psychological treatment via conversation
psychoanalysis · cognitive behavioral therapy · pharmacotherapy · Freudian analysis · electroconvulsive therapy
EMDRavoidance
Deliberate keeping away
suppression · repression · dissociation · numbing · denial