EMDR Therapy

ABOUT EMDR

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Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an extensively researched, effective psychotherapy method proven to help people recover from trauma and other distressing life experiences, including PTSD, Anxiety, Depression, Grief and Addiction. EMDR treats acute trauma, chronic trauma and complex trauma. The complex trauma is the "everyday" memories during childhood, which caused the current psychological issues such as low self-esteem, feelings of powerlessness, and myriads of other psychological and emotional challenges.

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The American Psychiatric Association, the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the World Health Organization recognised EMDR as an effective psychotherapy treatment for trauma and other disturbing experiences.

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EMDR Tenet

The brains have a natural way to recover from traumatic memories and events. This process involves communication between the amygdala (the alarm signal for stressful events), the hippocampus (which assists with learning, including memories about safety and danger), and the prefrontal cortex (which analyses and controls behaviour and emotion). 

 

For example, when you cut your hand, your body works to close the wound. But the fragment or foreign object continues to irritate the wound and causes pain until you remove it. EMDR therapy demonstrates that a similar sequence of events occurs with mental processes. The brain's information processing system naturally moves toward mental health. When distress from a disturbing event remains, the disturbing images, thoughts, and emotions may create feelings of being overwhelmed or "frozen in time." EMDR therapy helps the brain process these memories and allows healing to resumes, leading to the resolution of the traumatic memories. 

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How EMDR Works?

EMDR therapy involves attention to the past, present, and future periods. Treatment will focus on healing the past disturbing memories and their related events, which cause present distress. The EMDR therapist will also help their clients develop skills and attitudes needed for positive future actions. 

 

EMDR therapy is an eight-phase treatment, which includes history taking, resources and processing. The therapist uses eye movements or other bilateral stimulation in the sessions. During the processing, the therapist asks the client to hold different aspects of that event or thought in mind and to use his eyes to track the therapist’s hand as it moves back and forth across the client’s field of vision. As this happens, internal associations arise to process the memory and disturbing feelings, thus allowing for natural healing. The tenet behind this processing is similar to the biological mechanisms involved in Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep.

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The resolution of the traumatic memories may be achieved in one single session or several sessions, depending on the severity of the trauma. More details about the eight phases of EMDR treatment can be found here.

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Who may benefit from EMDR?

EMDR therapy is suitable for children, youth and adults of all ages.It  is a research-validated psychotherapy treatment for Anxiety, Depression, Bipolar Disorders, Dissociative Identity Disorders, Eating Disorders, Grief and Loss, and addictions. It has been effectively apply to treat various forms of trauma, including Sexual trauma, post-traumatic stress, childhood abuse, accident and medical trauma.

EMDR can also treat unexplained Chronic Pain and enhance sports and creative performance.

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Flash technique

The Flash Technique helps to reduce the disturbance level associated with severely painful memories. Like EMDR, Flash utilizes eye movements or alternating tapping to resolve unprocessed traumatic memories in the brain. While research is ongoing, clients who experience the Flash technique reported a rapid reduction in their distress level. The Flash technique is beneficial for trauma survivors who are not ready to process the traumatic events.

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Our EMDR Therapist

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ROSE FAQUIR

Rose holds more than 13 years of experience. Her strength lies in her genuine concern for her clients and her aptitude for continuous learning. Her knowledge of various psychotherapy modalities enables her to customise her treatment to suit the uniqueness of her clients. Rose provides treatment for multiple types of trauma, and her area of interest is attachment-based anxiety, sexual trauma, borderline personality disorder (BPD) and addictions. Rose is a Certified EMDR Therapist with EMDRIA and with EMDRS. Read more about Rose here​.

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TSUI LING

​As an experienced play therapist, Tsui Ling remains committed to be compassionate, warm, and affirming with clients who are troubled in their relationships, experience trauma, feel vulnerable or not coping well with life/work/school stresses. Working in a nonjudgmental way,  Read more about Tsui Ling here​.

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LISA HSU HAI YAN

Born in China, Lisa moved to Singapore in her adulthood. Lisa provides psychotherapy for anxiety, depression, trauma, and addiction while helping clients build their identity, self-esteem, and relationships with others. Lisa is competent in both English and Mandarin.Read more about Lisa here​.

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NANCY GAY

Nancy has over ten years of experience working with individuals and families using the person-centred and non-directive approach. She is passionate about supporting and empowering clients to achieve their goals and outcomes. Read more about Nancy here​.

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SHI LIM

Shi has worked with youth and young adults with anxiety, low self-esteem, and relational trauma. As a developing practitioner, Shi firmly believes in the value of continuing education and is currently attending training in EMDR with the Pannell Institute. Read more about Shi here​.

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Our EMDR Treatment

Our team of EMDR therapists provides EMDR Treatment for trauma survivors in Singapore and remotely through our team of EMDR therapists. We customise the treatment to your unique needs and integrate EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, Internal Family System (IFS), Sand Tray, or Expressive therapy when necessary. For more information, please email contact@restoringpeace.com.sg to book an appointment or write to rose@restoringpeace.com.sg if you need help deciding if EMDR therapy suits you.

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