Call: 1300 915 271

appointment

Call: 1300 915 271

appointment

Brisbane Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR) Brisbane helps you to process traumatic memories and events and reduce your stress levels and make the memory more distant. Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy process will assist to change any emotional, psychological and behavioural problems that relate to any unprocessed or stuck memories and decrease the memories emotion. Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR) process enables you to process the memories without having to talk about the details of the experience. Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR) techniques assists people with conditions of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

When a distressing or traumatic overwhelming event occurs, the memory of that event is stored in the brain differently from a normal memory, because of the high level of distressing emotions at the time of the event. Trauma memories are often frozen in time and locked in the nervous system. Since the memory is locked there, it continues to be triggered when a reminder comes along. Strong emotions or feelings connected to the old memory come up and we are unable to cope with our emotions or settle our emotions to a calm level.  Triggers may be emotional or physical responses and other responses that may activate images, physical sensations, tastes, smells, sounds and beliefs is though it is the day it originally happened.

Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based practice that was founded by Francine Shapiro in 1989a, 1989b.The adaptive information processing model (AIP) suggests that dysfunctional stored memories and memories that have not been processed are the cause of many mental health disorders. These mental health disorders may be Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, psychosis, addictions or chronic pain.

 

EMDR Professional Association

The EMDR Association of Australia (EMDRAA) is a professional association where Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing Therapy practitioners and researchers set standards for the clinical use of EMDR therapy for its members. EMDR is designated as an effective treatment by theWorld Health Organization (WHO), the Australian Phoenix Australia – Centre for Post-traumatic Mental Health, theU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and many other international health agencies. This powerful psychotherapy approach has helped over an estimated two million people of all ages relieve many types of psychological distress. This website provides information to the greater Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR) community including clinicians, researchers, and the public that our members serve.

 

What can EMDR help with

  • NDIS Psychosocial Disabilities
  • Mental Health Illness
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Veterans Affairs members and Australian Defence Force
  • Anxiety and panic attacks
  • Depression
  • Eating Disorders
  • Alcohol and other drug
  • Addictions
  • Schizophrenia
  • Borderline Personality Disorders
  • Agoraphobia
  • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
  • Grief and Loss

 

EMDR therapy from a Professional EMDR Therapist

Happy Peeps therapists provide a ‘safe space’ that is calm for our clients to share traumatic memories and life experiences. We will hold you though the complete EMDR process.

 

How does EMDR help people?

Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR) may assist with reductions in paranoid thinking, auditory, visual or somatic hallucinations or delusional and negative symptoms of psychosis.
Auditory Hallucinations: are the false perception of sound, music, noises or voices.
Someone may hear voices that are telling them what to do or they might hear repeated sound in the home or in the community.

Visual Hallucinations:the false perception of visual object or events.
A person may see things that are not here or could see someone being in the room or flashing lights or patterns.

Tactile Hallucinations: The false perception that bugs are crawling on the skin

Somatic Tactile Hallucination: The false perception or sensation of touch or something happening in or on the body.

Gustatory Hallucination: The false perception of taste
Someone may taste unpleasant or strange things that aren’t there. They may experience the taste of metallic or other strong tastes.

Olfactory Hallucinations: The false perception of smell.
The belief that they’re smelling a foul or pungent odour or thinking that something or someone smells bad.

 

EMDR Process

  • We start Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing Therapy EMDR by bringing the memory you have chosen to work with into the working memory, focus on the memory, its associated thoughts emotions and body sensations.
  • Aiming to tax your working memory through bilateral stimulation you will follow my finger with your eyes.
  • The natural healing process will occur in your brain and as the memory unlocks the brains natural processing system will begin to work
  • The processing of the brain and the memory unfolds the memory becomes more distant and thoughts and emotions begin to change. As you observe what unfolds your brain is in a process of healing.
  • As the process unfolds other memories or thoughts may arise and emotions and body sensations may change.
  • You will be encouraged to observe and notice throughout the EMDR process as things keep changing.
  • As a professionally trained EMDR therapist I will support you throughout the process and support you if you have strong emotions by assisting you to return to grounded and calm. Emotions may be like a wave that peaks and then subsides.
  • If at any time you would like to stop you simply raise your hand, however it is best to continue as best you can. I will be with you the whole time and support you to the end of processing the memory.
  • Kiessling’s Variation is that sometimes I may begin slowing down the eye movements before I stop the set. If I begin slowing down and you want to keep processing, just give me the “keep going” signal (rotating finger signal.) and I’ll keep going until you are ready to stop. You let me know when to stop.
  • After a set of eye movements I will ask you “What do you notice now”
  • You will tell me what you notice without judging whether you think it should happen or not. It is important that you let whatever happens happen.

 

What is the outcome of EMDR?

  • Process to develop new brain associations to result in complete information processing, new learning, elimination of emotional distress and development of cognitive insights.
  • Processing the past events that have caused dysfunction
  • Processing and developing new connections and links which form new adaptive neural pathway information
  • Processing the current situations and targeting the triggers that cause distress and desensitising internal and external triggers.
  • Processing what is needed for the future to assist you to acquire the skills that are necessary for adaptive functioning and to help you get through the day.

 

What skills may we develop in the process?

  • Processing to improve our skills of communication with others
  • Expressing thoughts and emotions to others
  • Comprehend what others say to us
  • Manage written content and language
  • Coping skills to get through the day
  • Care for own health and hygiene
  • Completing home based tasks at an age appropriate level
  • Go to work or school
  • Preparing a healthy meal
  • Developing Social skills
  • Develop good relationships that benefits both people
  • Increase our access to the community and participate in social activities

 

EMDR is an Eight Phase Treatment:

Phase 1

History and Suitability
  • Presenting Issue
  • Goals of therapy
  • Identifying current triggers
  • Memory/Image
  • Mapping Questions to understand your history, meaning about yourself, your emotions and behaviours
  • Negative beliefs about yourself
  • Positive Beliefs about yourself
  • How true is the positive belief
  • Suitability for EMDR

 

Phase 2

Procedural Preparation
  • Attachment Styles
  • Calm strategies
  • Breathing techniques
  • Butterfly hugs
  • Imagery
  • Light stream
  • Spiral technique
  • Container imagery
  • Flash technique

 

Phase 3

Target Assessment
  • Key memory and negative belief to activate emotions
  • Subject of Units of Distress (SUDS) to check how distressed you feel
  • Emotions and Feelings and locating body sensations

 

Phase 4

Desensitisation or Processing
  • EMDR bilateral stimulation to process memories

 

Phase 5

Integrating the Positive Belief
  • EMDR bilateral stimulation linking the positive belief with the original memory

 

Phase 6

Body Scan
  • Therapist guides a body scan to check on body sensations to strengthen positive feelings

 

Phase 7

Closure and Debrief
  • Discussion about the session and what you notice

 

Phase 8

Re-Evaluation
  • Next session discuss other memories, other associations, behavioural, cognitive and affective changes

If you would like to discuss further, please call us 1300 915 271

Happy Peeps Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) professionally trained practitioners are committed to providing a safe and comfortable environment for you to process your traumatic memories If you would like to book an appointment please call the Happy Peeps team 1300 915 271 to make a confidential appointment.