EMDR: The Breakthrough "Eye Movement" Therapy for Overcoming Anxiety, Stress, and Trauma

I read this book after my therapist recommended EMDR - I wanted to know what it was. The book was fascinating.....almost too good to be true. But after my first EMDR session last week, I am a believer. I have suffered from severe anxiety and depression for over 30 years and nothing has helped me. When I left the session last week I felt an unusual sense of lightness and have felt happy and much freer. I cut down on the medication I was taking. I am looking forward to more sessions to deal with other problems. I wish I could shout from the rooftops for anyone with psychological problems to try this therapy with someone who is well qualified.

This book documents the healing journeys of numerous trauma survivors. Written for the general public, it provides an intimate view into the healing processes of persons treated with EMDR. Individual stories are written in narrative form, describing the experiences and symptoms of each person before, during, and after EMDR treatment. Therapy descriptions include transcripts of actual treatment sessions. Each chapter highlights recovery from a different type of disorder: combat related trauma, incest and child abuse, rape, phobias and panic attacks, sleep disorders and childhood trauma, attachment disorders, traumatic grief, addiction, and diagnosis of life-threatening illness. This book is very helpful for persons considering EMDR treatment as it explains the therapy process from the client's perspective.

This book gives a description of the evolution of EMDR, the eight phases of treatment, theories regarding possible underlying mechanisms, and controlled research. Most importantly, the book give extensive case descriptions with verbatim transcripts of EMDR sessions so that readers can see it in action. Chapters are devoted to the treatment of anxiety, trauma, phobias, depression, physical complaints, and a wide variety of fears and clinical conditions in children and adults. Through the detailed discussions and transcripts readers can see for themselves whether EMDR might be applicable to themselves or a loved one.

As a Vietnam Veteran who fought for 28 years to deny any Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) lingering from my year there, EMDR has allowed me to finally come home! Whether it is war, crime, abuse, neglect, whatever; this book helps you recognize yourself and inspires great hope for overcoming your taumas. EMDR is not hypnosis nor the power of suggestion. It is truly a breakthrough, allowing the physical brain to unload the emotional terrors locked inside in an amazing way. EMDR will bring you home! Don't live another day carrying around whatever is locked inside of your brain. I commend this especially to my brothers and sisters who have spent half of their lives trying to un-live Vietnam. Peace be with you.

"EMDR: The Breakthrough Therapy for Overcoming Anxiety, Stress and Trauma" describes a method for finally releasing the demons of our past. The book points out that it isn't necessarily the magnitude of the event that is important but our response to it. Most of us are familiar with the impact of post traumatic stress on war veterans but over time we tend to discount the long term effects of losing a loved one, not holding an infant or the chronic teasing from a sibling. Francine Shapiro shows us how EMDR can help free us from the BIG traumas as well as the "little" traumas of life. Fortunately, we don't have to understand how it can change us emotionally or physically. All we have to do is try it ourselves for 3 sessions and see what happens. After reading the book I understood how anxiety, stress and trauma changes our thinking and how EMDR can transform the negative into positive for any number of situations.