Trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Trauma is a negative life experience that prevents the functioning of vital processing and coping capabilities. Typically, traumatic experiences include assault, road traffic accidents, war trauma, torture, natural or man-made disasters, sexual abuse and childhood neglect. It can lead to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with symptoms such as vivid flashbacks and nightmares, intrusive thoughts and images, intense distress at real or symbolic reminders of the trauma, difficulties concentrating and focusing as well as physical sensations, such as pain, sweating, nausea or trembling.

For treating trauma patients I use a method called EMDR which is an acronym for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. EMDR is now recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as one of the most effective treatment methods for trauma and PTSD patients. EMDR is a complex method of psychotherapy which integrates many of the successful elements of a range of therapeutic approaches in combination with eye movements or other forms of alternative dual attention stimulation, such as alternative hand-tapping, which appear to stimulate the brain’s information processing system.

The goal of EMDR is to reduce the long-lasting effects of distressing memories by engaging the brain’s natural adaptive information processing mechanisms, thereby relieving present symptoms.