Fifteen years ago when EMDR was made available to the world of mental health practice it was greeted with some degree of skepticism. Could a practice this simple and straightforward be this effective? At this point, the general answer is that in fact, it is a remarkable effective therapeutic modality. It blends aspects of hypnotherapy, psychodynamics, and CBT to make traumatic material available much more quickly than conventional therapies, and also to provide a safe environment in which the client gains more tools in which to manage the stress of the memories. In the past few years, I've gotten increasing referrals from conventional psychoanalysts or psychotherapists who have felt, correctly, that their clients can speed up on the healing process by using EMDR.
