Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) is a form of therapy that was developed to resolve trauma-related disorders. When traumatic or distressing experiences occur, it may overwhelm the usual way in which the mind copes. It is thought that the memories of the events are then stored in a separate part of the brain and can’t be processed in the normal way.
The therapy initially involves helping you to feel more safe and connected and then moves onto processing memories of past events while in the safety of the therapeutic space. For more information on EMDR see
The goal of EMDR therapy is to process these distressing memories, reducing their lingering influence and allowing people to develop more adaptive coping mechanisms.
The NICE guidelines include EMDR as one of the recognised treatments for trauma.