Attachment Focused EMDR (Eye Movement and Desensitisation & Reprocessing) integrates attachment theory and EMDR to heal relational trauma. It is a gentle and effective treatment for psychological distress following complex traumatic experiences, often experienced in childhood.
It is a gentle intervention that focuses on building internal resources to increase our ability to access our window of tolerance initially. We then move on to processing traumatic thoughts, feelings and physiology to develop an adaptive understanding of the event thus reducing symptoms.
By accessing the traumatic memory and using eye movements or tapping ,the fragmented information moves into the thinking brain that is better able to make sense of the experience.
EMDR therapy uses a 3 pronged approach:
- Past events are explored to understand the roots of the current distress
- Current dysfunction is targeted to relieve symptoms and triggers
- Future templates are developed to support adaptive responses to potential distressing situations
