Victims or witnesses of violent scenes may develop post-traumatic stress disorder. Thanks to EMDR, they can finally turn the page, live in the present and look forward to the future with peace of mind. Discover this revolutionary technique in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder is part of the anxiety disorders. It occurs as a result of trauma and dramatically changes the victim's perception of life. As they say: "there is a before and after".
The 3 symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder are: intrusion, avoidance, and overstimulation. PTSD is about people who have experienced death up close. As a direct victim or witness of a violent scene, they ended up developing a permanent anxiety disorder that can last for years.
It is not the event itself that defines the intensity of the stress and how it was perceived by the individual. Thus a rape victim as well as a phobic May develop post-traumatic stress disorder.
EMDR, the technique
Conventional treatment following post-traumatic stress usually consists of psychotherapy coupled with medication. Among the many techniques is EMDR or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing practiced by psychologists and psychiatrists. It is a sensory stimulation technique alternating right and left that is usually practiced through eye movements. The patient will then follow the therapist's finger with his eyes as it moves back and forth in front of his eyes. Audible stimuli may also be offered. In this case, a headset emits sound alternately in the right ear and in the left ear. Finally, there is a tactile stimulus that involves tapping the patient's knees or the backs of their hands.
The effects of EMDR
The bi-alternate sensory stimulation allows the brain to "short-circuit" and thus integrate the memory as an event from the past. We deprogram the reliving of the trauma and all associated symptoms.
The patient integrates the information, deprograms the suffering and reprograms a new, more peaceful and serene reality.
Discovering EMDR
The EMDR technique was discovered by chance in 1987 by American psychologist Francine Shapiro. Numerous controlled scientific studies have been conducted for over 30 years worldwide. This is how EMDRbecomes a standard in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.
In France, in June 2015 Inserm validates the effectiveness of hypnosis and EMDR as treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Preparing for your EMDR session
Before actually doing an EMDR session, the patient must do some preparation through preliminary interviews. Indeed, it is necessary to establish a relationship of trust between the patient and the therapist, to clearly identify a problem to be treated and finally to put in place psycho-corporal tools of emotional stabilization so that the patient can work independently between sessions.
The traumatic memories are thus identified and treated one by one knowing that sometimes several sessions are necessary to treat a single memory.
Schedule of the EDMR session
The patient must focus on thetraumatic memory without omitting the most disturbing sensations: images, sounds, smells, sensations as well as the thoughts and negative feelings associated with them. This is why these sessions can be very exciting and upsetting and why it is essential to be supervised by an experienced practitioner.
Once reconnected to the memories and associated sensations, the patient will perform series of rapid alternating bilateral stimulations. Between each series, you are asked to express everything that comes to mind. Then, the stimulation resumes until the memory and associated sensations are completely attenuated and the subject feels completely calmed.
An EMDR session lasts from 60 to 90 minutes. At the end of the first session, it is not uncommon to feel a marked improvement.
The benefits of EMDR.
- strongly limits drug treatments
- significantly accelerates resilience
- relatively short therapy, which is not negligible when the sessions are not covered by social security
- natural and painless treatment
- noticeable effects from the first session