Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

[David Morris]

http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2001/10/04/emdr/index.html

The mystery cure
A simple approach to treating trauma has had spectacular results in the wake 
of tragedies in Oklahoma, Bosnia and Littleton. Will EMDR help in New York?

[...]
EMDR -- or "Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing" -- has a certain 
hocus-pocus ring to it, particularly when suggested as the "cure" for a 
psychic bludgeoning; but in the decade since its discovery, EMDR has proven 
to be astonishingly effective at helping victims of severe trauma. A process 
that combines principles of neruoscience with elements of therapy, it is 
meant to facilitate the healthy processing of grief by using visual and 
audio stimulation to help patients talk about terrifying memories.

It looks quite simple, even simplistic, to the observer: A patient recalls 
memories of a traumatic event -- over and over -- while watching a doctor's 
fingers move back and forth, or while listening to repetitive sounds in a 
headset. That's it -- a drill that looks a bit like a nightclub hypnotism. 
Yet after just a few sessions, this methodology has helped the survivors of 
hugely traumatic events, including the Columbine school shootings, the 
Oklahoma City bombing, the Bosnian war and floods in Bangladesh.



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