This is a newer clinical form of treatment used in therapy to help reprocess traumatic experiences. It was developed by Francine Shapiro PhD in 1989. EMDR is a treatment approach that includes using eye movements or other left-right stimulation which helps victims of trauma reprocess disturbing thoughts and memories. Its effects appear to be connected to the same process that occur in REM sleep. The eye movements seem to stimulate a person's innate information processing systems to transform dysfunctional thoughts into less threatening information. EMDR can be used with both adults as well as children. An EMDR facilitator is a clinical therapist extensively trained under the direction of Francine Shapiro.
