Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is one of the new therapy kids on the block. In fact, it was not used on patients until 2001! While it is not always the best therapy for those of us with BPD it is good for those of us with underline childhood and adult traumas otherwise known as PTSD. In this post, we will talk about what it is, how well it works and whether or not you can get it here in the UK…
What is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy?
This form of psychotherapy is designed to work best with people who have had disturbing life experiences, otherwise known as those of us with C-PTSD or PTSD. The main goal of this therapy is to teach the patient that the mind can heal in much the same way the body can. In short, it tries to remove the “block” that the trauma has been causing all your life and get you on the right path again.
The therapy gets its name because the first phase of the eight-phase treatment is all about eye movements and using those movements to target specific memories that might be causing the patient trauma. The movement is often liked to REM (Rapid Eye Movement) only you are awake during each session. By learning how your body is reacting to those memories is the key to success and it is mostly down to self-cure rather than a clinician interpretation that other therapies rely on.
Does Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Work?
Based on a small group of 30 people with BPD, all of which also had underline C-PTSD or PTSD 90% of them no longer had troubles with past traumatic memories making them heel happier with both themselves and their positivity looking ahead. To tell you how good it is, the same thing was done on war veterans of which 77% of them felt they no longer held onto the past in a negative way! If that doesn’t impress you, nothing will.
How Can I Get Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Here in the UK?
While the short answer here is Yes, it does seem to be a bit of a postcode lottery at the moment. The good news is you can do virtual EMDR therapy with a number of sites costing as little as £50 per month! I think that is a good deal, but I get that this sum can also be a lot for some people. So the best advice I can give you is to ask your local mental health teams and see if it is available. You might strike gold and get put on a list, of they might say no, in which case it might be worth going privately.
As with any of these BPD treatments before you might need to try a combination of them before you find that winning combination, but do stick with it. If you want any help or advice relating to BPD do drop me an email via the contact us page and one of our writers will answer it ASAP.
