Alumni incorporate EMDR into psychodynamic treatment

EMDR is a treatment developed by Francine Shapiro (2001) to reprocess traumatic experiences that are “locked” in the nervous system and give rise to current symptomatology. It involves an eight stage protocol in which clients select a target memory and, with the clinician, assess its cognitive, somatic, and emotional components as well as associated level of distress. The memory is then reprocessed through bilateral stimulation (most commonly eye movements) of the brain until the level of distress is reduced. Shapiro developed the “information-processing model” to explain EMDR’s “…treatment effects in terms of the association of memory networks” (Shapiro, 2002, p. 29). The reprocessing allows the client to “digest” a stuck traumatic memory by connecting it with more adaptive memory networks in the brain. EMDR originated as a treatment for PTSD, but EMDR protocols now exist for a variety of issues, such as phobias and grief. Originally developed with adults, its use has also been extended to children, but with modifications in technique.

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Lauren Picciano

Picciano, L. (2009, Fall). Alumni incorporate EMDR into psychodynamic treatment. GSAPP Alumni Newsletter, 10(2), 1,4