Words That Heal

Specializing in Individual Counseling, Women's Concerns,
and the Treatment of Anxiety, Grief, Loss, and Panic

900C Lake Street, # 2
Ramsey, New Jersey 07446
(856) 993-2814

Additional Location
6 Kings Highway East
Haddonfield, New Jersey 08033
(856) 993-2814

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EMDR* Therapy

EMDR has been used effectively to help many people heal after troubling life experiences and trauma. To view SPECT scans by physician Daniel Amen, M.D., showing the calming effect of EMDR on brain function, click here, and scroll down Dr. Amen's webpage to the brain scans. For a brief glimpse inside an EMDR therapy session and to hear Dr. Amen interpret the results of pre- and post-EMDR brain scans, click here.

Physician and researcher Bessell van der Kolk, M.D., found that EMDR was more effective than Prozac for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Six months after treatment:

1. Patients who had been treated with EMDR continued to improve, while patients who had been treated with Prozac only and no EMDR lost some of their gains.

2. 57% of the people who had completed EMDR treatment had no more PTSD symptoms, while everyone in the Prozac only group still had some PTSD symptoms.

3. Those who had completed EMDR treatment were significantly less depressed than persons who had been treated with Prozac only.

To review the complete article on Dr. van der Kolk's research in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, click here.

Research has shown that there is an advantage to early intervention, and that the EMDR Recent Traumatic Episodes Protocol (R-TEP):

  • significantly decreased symptoms of depression and PTSD in survivors of a rocket attack after two 90-minute sessions.
  • was effective in treating those who had survived natural disasters.

The EMDR Group Traumatic Episodes Protocol (G-TEP):

  • may be efficiently administered to a family, work group, or survivors following a trauma or loss.
  • resulted in significantly decreased depression and PTSD for Syrian refugees after two group sessions within a 3-day period.
  • decreased intrusive symptoms and distress levels in the staff of a mental health facility, who had been vicariously traumatized by exposure to the stories of those they served.

For further research on early EMDR intervention, click here.

EMDR has been acknowledged by the:

  • American Psychiatric Association
  • American Psychological Association
  • United States Department of Defense
  • United States Department of Veterans Affairs
  • Israeli National Council for Mental Health
  • United Kingdom Department of Health
  • United Kingdom National Institute for Clinical Excellence
  • Northern Ireland Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
  • Dutch National Steering Committee Guidelines for Mental Health Care
  • French National Institute of Health and Medical Research
  • International Society for Traumatic Stress
  • World Health Organization

For FAQs on EMDR therapy, click here.

For a list of randomized, controlled clinical research studies involving EMDR, click here.

* EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)