EMDR Trauma Therapy
What is EMDR and AF-EMDR?
You may have read about EMDR in recent years as a therapy for the treatment of trauma. Celebrities such as Sandra Bullock and Prince Harry have spoken about the positive effects EMDR has had on their journeys of healing. Known as Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), it involves eye movements or other kinds of bilateral stimulation that facilitates the processing and releasing of distressing experiences trapped in our minds and bodies.
EMDR has been used to help many individuals suffering from the traumatic effects of war, assault, disasters, and childhood abuse, with a significant amount of research conducted over the years to measure and evaluate its effectiveness as a trauma therapy. Read more about trauma in our blog article here.
AF-EMDR: Rebuilding trust and safety in relationships
Research has shown that people who were deprived of close and emotionally safe relationships in their early childhood years may experience difficulties trusting or communicating with others in later years. If this resonates with you, coming for traditional EMDR therapy may be challenging as the very premise of therapy involves putting your trust in the counsellor or any helping professional.
This is why Dr. Laurel Parnell founded Attachment-Focused EMDR (AF-EMDR), an evolution from traditional EMDR. It extends the use of traditional EMDR by including an attachment-repair focus to all phases of traditional EMDR protocols. Simply put, it places emotional safety in the therapeutic relationship at its core.
Therapists trained in AF-EMDR are sensitive to your needs and recognise that your trust in them is the foundation to healing from your trauma. It is also considered a gentler approach than the traditional, as it involves taking the time to build up your inner resources (otherwise known as internal strengths and positive qualities you have and can tap on for coping) before starting the processing work.
Here at Stillness for the Heart, we have counsellors trained in AF-EMDR and other types of trauma-specific therapies. We also conduct training courses for helping professionals who are keen to learn about AF-EMDR. Contact us to find out more.