TERAPIA ODWRAŻLIWIANIA I PRZETWARZANIA ZA POMOCĄ RUCHU GAŁEK OCZNYCH (EMDR)

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy is one of the most effective approaches to treating trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro, it is currently recommended by leading mental health institutions, including the WHO and the American Psychiatric Association.

EMDR is based on the premise that many of our current emotional difficulties stem from painful, unadaptively processed past experiences . When an experience becomes overwhelming, our brains can "freeze" it into fragments of images, emotions, and bodily sensations. Such memories, unprocessed naturally, can continue to cause distress—for example, through anxiety, intrusive images, guilt, or shame.

During an EMDR session, the client, with the therapist's support, focuses on a difficult memory while simultaneously engaging in bilateral stimulation —most often eye movements, but also alternating tactile or auditory stimuli. This triggers adaptive information processing mechanisms in the brain, allowing memories to be "unlocked" and integrated in a healthy way. As a result, their emotional charge gradually diminishes, and the past can be recalled without such intense pain.

EMDR therapy is particularly effective for:

• post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),

• the effects of violence, accidents, losses and neglect,

• anxiety and panic attacks,

• phobias, intrusive thoughts and memories,

• chronic feelings of guilt, shame or low self-worth,

• emotional difficulties arising from childhood.