EMDR explained- two free videos

As previously stated, EMDR has great potential in healing the trauma which is often at the source of TMS. It could be a viable treatment option for people whose recovery has stalled, or whose recovery only goes so far with the presentation of TMS information. Many psychologists view it as the most important psychological discovery in the last hundred years. However, many people either dont know much about it, and it is often shrouded in some kind of mystery.

To redress this, I have added two videos explaining EMDR to my website (www.drjamesalexander-psychologist.com), under the EMDR button.

I made these videos for my clients to watch at home, rather than have us use valuable therapy time with me just presenting the information which is important as part of the preparatory ground work. Because EMDR is a seemingly unusual approach, i think it requires an adequate explanation, especially for intelligent people who have a need to understand it.

I am happy for people who are not clients of mine to watch these videos if it helps them decide whether to pursue EMDR or not. If you do decide to pursue it, this information will reduce the amount of preparation time which would otherwise need to be spent in therapy. The videos go into a discussion about the nature of trauma; how our mind/brain naturally processes and digests our experiences; the relevance of sleep and dreams; how EMDR is thought to replicate the naturally occurring psychological digestive processes; what goes on in an EMDR session; what people can expect from it.

Unfortunately, it isnt a visual spectacular though- you just get to see me talking at you. Let me know if you have any questions about EMDR after watching them. Also, on the same EMDR page of my website, you will see links to:- an audio interview with Francine Shapiro, as well as two excellent on-line interviews in which she answers a lot of important questions about this approach.

 

Thanks for this Forest.
James has been ever so kind to me and watching these videos helped a lot. I endorse your support of them. EMDR sounds like a very powerful healing path. I can only echo Steve O's words about the importance of relationship, particularly with a therapist. If James could be cloned there would be lots of happy folk in the world.

 

Thanks, Forest.

I'm half way through Dr. Alexander's book the Hidden Psychology of Pain, and think it's excellent. He's a treasure.

 

Dr. Alexander's videos give a good explanation of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
which applies mainly to those who suffered trauma in their childhood or later years. I also found it good
to watch Francine Shapiro's video in which she helps a man deal with his trauma regarding his father's
death. It led him to have pain symptoms he treated with self control and stress reduction techniques.
Shapiro has him notice a picture that stresses him, do some deep breathing, then blank it out as she
waves her hand in front of his eyes. It pushes the bad memory out of his mind.

I found EMDR to be kind of like a tapping technique where we imagine an anxiety and tap our head
and chest and grip an arm and say "Peace!" The anxiety gradually is reduced until it's gone.
Doing EMDR a few times can make the anxiety reduce and then go away.