Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an effective mental health treatment researched and proven effective mainly for the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which was developed in 1987 by Dr. Francine Shapiro. She suggests that psychological distress results from unprocessed memories of traumatic or disturbing events. EMDR aims to mitigate distress via an eight-stage process, including patient background, preparation, evaluation, desensitization, reinforcement, somatic attention, closure and reassessment. Despite its origins in trauma therapy, EMDR has been applied to a variety of psychological issues, including anxiety, depression and phobias. This paper provides an overview of the theoretical basis, methodology, application and efficacy of EMDR, including the existing computerized systems created to enhance the EMDR Therapy. Additionally, a web application is presented which consists of a chatbot providing instructions for an individual session of EMDR Therapy.