Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing: Treatment, Effects & Risks

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) represents a treatment method for trauma patients. Meanwhile, the effectiveness of this method has been proven. More than 80 percent of treated patients feel significantly better after treatment.

What is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing?

The core element of EMDR is the use of bilateral stimulation to reprocess traumatic memories. In this process, the patient follows the therapist’s fingers with his or her eyes. In the process, the therapist moves the hands back and forth. The Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing treatment method was developed by American psychotherapist Dr. Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s. During a walk, she noticed that she was able to significantly free herself from depressive thoughts and fears regarding her cancer by moving her eyes back and forth. Based on this experience, she developed the method of desensitization through eye movement and reprocessing of traumatic events. Translated into German, “Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing” means eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. Since this method produced equally good results, it was also introduced in Germany in 1991. Finally, in 2006, the Scientific Advisory Board for Psychotherapy recognized the method as scientifically based. The core element of EMDR is the use of bilateral stimulation to reprocess traumatic memories. In this process, the patient follows the therapist’s fingers with his or her eyes. In the process, the therapist moves the hands back and forth. This movement is intended to help the brain activate its self-healing abilities.

Function, effect and goals

EMDR is based on the knowledge that each person has his or her own information processing abilities for dealing with traumatic experiences, which he or she can activate with this method. In the context of therapy, the core element is eye movement, also known as bilateral stimulation. Patients follow the therapist’s fingers with their eyes. In the process, the therapist moves the hands back and forth. It is believed that the eye movements are comparable to the REM sleep phase. In this REM phase of sleep, past events are processed by the brain. The same is true for EMDR. Before treatment, a detailed history of the trauma must be taken. The basis for the treatment is the recognition of the speechless horror. After all, the trauma is characterized by the fact that the brain switches off the speech center regarding the trauma. The person becomes speechless and can no longer verbally process what he or she has experienced. However, within the framework of EMDR, the speech center is also reactivated so that the patient can better process what he or she has experienced. The mode of action of the therapy could be proven beyond doubt. However, it has not yet been possible to clarify to what extent the eye movements really have an influence on the activation of certain brain regions. At present, attempts are being made to expand the range of applications of EMDR. The question to be answered is to what extent the treatment can be made even more effective in anxiety disorders and in depression. Promising results are also available in this area. Studies are also being conducted to determine whether alcoholics or pedophiles can also benefit from EMDR. As early as 1995, quality control was introduced in the USA to further promote the method. To carry out these quality controls, the organization EMDRIA was founded in the USA and the European professional society EMDR-Europe was founded in Europe in 1998. These two professional societies ensure a high standard of quality through certifications. The treatment of trauma disorders by EMDR has also been recognized internationally. For example, EMDR was recommended by the Aftercare, Victim and Relative Assistance (NOAH) after the devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia. Today, EMDR can be used to treat a wide range of mental health conditions. These include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as the effects of stressful life experiences, severe grief following loss experiences, attachment trauma, child developmental and behavioral disorders, psychosomatic exhaustion syndrome, depression, anxiety and panic attacks, and chronic pain.

Risks, side effects and dangers

Very good results are achieved with Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. So far, however, it has not been clearly established on what basis these great successes are based. Scientific studies should clarify which elements of the method are compellingly necessary for its success. A research project is being carried out at the University of Munich, which is intended to further elucidate the mechanism of the treatment method. It has already been found that fixation of the eyes on the hands has a significant effect on the decrease of symptoms. In a control group without explicit fixation of the eyes on the hands, symptoms did not decrease as much. However, in this study, the movement of the hands and the co-movement of the eyes had no effect on the outcome. Establishing attention to the hands was crucial for success. Thus, in these studies, the influence of eye movements could not yet be clearly demonstrated. On the other hand, however, it was possible to prove that attention must be established in order to process the stressful experiences. All studies conducted so far could prove that the application of EMDR brings improvements in the symptomatology of trauma patients. However, the studies have not been able to prove beyond doubt whether this is due to the basic assumption of eye movements that has been followed so far. Since the studies were able to confirm some of the assumptions made, such as eye gaze exposure, it was scientifically accepted. Since the specific eye movements, which are considered to be the core of the method, probably do not have this great influence after all, EMDS was occasionally dismissed as pseudoscience. EMDS was nevertheless able to retain its rank as a scientific method because the confrontation component, where the patient is directly confronted with the traumatizing stimuli, produces the actual effect of this method.