EMDR
EYE MOVEMENT
DESENSITIZATION AND
REPROCESSING
LORI SETZER & PATRIK STRIDH
EMDR
ORIGINATOR AND
DEVELOPER
FRANCINE SHAPIRO, Ph.D
EMDR
 Dr. Shapiro has been an invited speaker on EMDR at numerous psychology conferences,
including the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological
Society Presidential Symposium on PTSD.
 She has written and co-authored more than 50 articles and three books.
 Dr. Shapiro received the Distinguished Scientific Achievement in Psychology Award
presented by the California Psychological Association and the 2002 Sigmund Freud
Award for Psychotherapy presented by the City of Vienna in conjunction with the World
Council for Psychotherapy.
DEVELOPMENT OF EMDR
 In 1987, Dr. Shapiro was taking a stroll in the park and had
some disturbing thoughts flash through her mind. After
moving her eyes from side to side she noticed the negative
feelings immediately dissipate. She assumed that the eye
movements had a desensitizing effect.
 Eye Movement Desensitization (EMD) was introduced in
1989, later called (EMDR) Eye Movement Desensitization
and Reprocessing (1991) to reflect the cognitive changes
that occur during treatment and to identify the information
processing theory.
 When an individual becomes upset or in distress, the brain cannot
process the information as it would normally. Some traumatic event or
recurring situation provokes intense emotions that become “frozen in
time” and “stuck in the information processing system. Dr. Shapiro
claims EMDR has a direct effect on the way the brain processes
upsetting material.
 Brom conducted a control study in 1989 and found no significant
differences between conditions of psychodynamic therapy,
hypnotherapy, and desensitization. Another study conducted by
Cooper and Clum reported a moderate clinical effect with a 30% dropout rate.
 Over 40,000 clinicians worldwide have been trained in EMDR.
 EMDR is the most extensively researched treatment for
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
 EMDR use in treating depression, phobias and other complex
psychological illnesses such as general anxiety,
paranoid schizophrenia, learning disabilities, eating disorders,
substance abuse, and pathological jealousy.
How it Works
 No one can explain how it works
 You concentrate on a problem and move eyes by following a stick,
a light, or a finger
 Some say it unblocks the information processing system
 Others say it works by the restructuring of memory by a ping-
pong effect between the right and left side of the brain
– Effects how the brain interprets upsetting material
The Eight Phases of EMDR
1. -Client’s readiness for EMDR is assessed
-Treatment plan is laid out
2. -Make sure client has coping skills and is
in a relatively stable state
-Stress-reducing techniques taught and
mastered
Phase 3 through 6
-Target is identified and processed using EMDR
-Client identifies positive beliefs and rates it from 0-10
-Client focuses on the image, negative thought, and body
sensations while moving eyes back and fourth following
the therapist’s finger
-Client instructed to notice whatever happens and let their
mind go blank and then notice thoughts, feelings, images,
memories, or sensations that come to mind
-When client reports no distress related to the targeted
memory clinician asks them to think of preferred positive
beliefs
-Therapist checks with client regarding body sensations
Phases 7 and 8
7.
8.
-Closure
-Client keeps a journal
-The Next Session
-Re-evaluation of work done and inquire
about progress made
Goal of EMDR Therapy
Produce the most comprehensive treatment
effects in the shortest period of time, while
simultaneously maintaining a stable client
with in a balanced system.
EMOTIONAL FREEDOM TECHNIQUES

EFT “The cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body’s energy system” Gary H. Craig

The set up
Even though I have this ____________ I deeply and completely accept myself.
Affirmation-acknowledging problem while tapping.
Works even if you do not believe it, just keep saying the phrase continually but is better if
emphasized.

Tapping process
Use dominant hand with two fingers.
Tap seven times to get energy straightened out.
Reminder phrase “The accident” etc.

Sore spot (Lymphatic Congestion)
Three inches down from where the tie knot of a tie is and three inches to left and say affirmation
three times.

Karate chop
Tapping point while saying reminder phrase.
The Sequence

Each point below the last on the body.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Beginning of the Eye Brow (EB)
Side of the Eye (SE)
Under the Eye (UE)
Under the Nose (UN)
Chin (Ch)
Beginning of the Collar Bone (CB)
Under the Arm (UA)
Below the Nipple (BN)
Thumb (Th)
Index Finger (IF)
Middle Finger (MF)
Baby Finger (BF)
Karate Chop (KC)
The 9 Gamut Procedure
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Eyes closed
Eyes open
Eyes hard down to the right
Eyes hard down to the left
Roll eyes in a circle clockwise
Roll eyes in a circle counterclockwise
Hum for 2 seconds
Count rapidly from 1 to 5
Hum for 2 seconds
Persisting in the Belief
 Third Variable Problem
 Social Influence
– Conformity
 Biased Sampling
 Confirmation Bias
– Fundamental Attribution Error
 Response to Uncertainty
– Pascal’s Wager
 Testimonials
 Not Falsifiable
Testing of Belief
 EMDR relies on eye movement so you
would need to control for all other
extraneous variables. If you can isolate the
eye movement then you would be able to
see if it is the essential part of the treatment
 The scales would have to be standardized to
see how much you improved because a 0-10
scale is extremely subjective
The End