ALIFE-CHANGING treatment is helping scores of people in the region thanks to the expertise of a local college.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) has evolved as a highly successful treatment for people who have experienced trauma in their life. It has helped thousands of people throughout the world to relieve many types of psychological stress and boasts an 85 per cent success rate.

Finchale College in Durham is currently using EMDR to treat clients who have suffered for years with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, stress, phobias, sleep problems, grief, addictions, pain relief, self-esteem issues and performance anxiety.

Supported by the NHS, this treatment is being delivered by experienced college counsellor and EMDR therapist, John Marr.

“Since starting the therapy at the college I have treated over a hundred clients, and it really has changed their lives for the better,” said John.

“It is an amazing treatment that can be used for anything that is stopping clients from moving on with their life.

When I get feedback saying clients are able to sleep again, I know it has been a triumph.”

The EMDR technique uses rapid eye movement (REM), a natural function of the body that the human mind uses during sleep to help it process daily emotional experiences.

When trauma is extreme, this process breaks down and REM sleep doesn’t bring the usual relief from distress.

This is where EMDR comes in.

Using a light therapy machine, troubling images and feelings are processed by the brain via the eye movement patterns during the therapy session.

Clients are then asked to report back on the experiences they have had during each of these sets of eye movements.

Experiences during a session may include changes in feelings, thoughts and images.

With repeated sets of eye movements, the memory tends to change in such a way that it loses its painful intensity and becomes a neutral memory of an event in the past.

This linking of related memories can lead to a dramatic and rapid improvement in many aspects of a client’s life.

“The light machine is used to stop the brain from closing down when I take clients back to the trauma that is causing them problems,” said John.

“Because the brain has another job to do it passes the problem to another part of the brain where it can be dealt with to help to bring about a resolution.

“Many clients I’ve treated have tried other types of therapy with no success, but EMDR has worked like nothing else.”

Many clients are referred to Finchale College by regional mental health teams or Primary Care Trusts to receive the life-changing treatment.

NHS Veteran’s Health Trainer, Lee Swift, said: “Anyone who has lived through trauma and still hasn’t properly processed the event – so they are reliving it – needs support.

“If EMDR can help or alleviate that replaying of the trauma without the associated anxiety, it is a huge success.

“It is important to note that it is not only people who have been in the military who experience symptoms of PTSD.

Events such as relationship breakdowns, road traffic accidents and bereavements are all among life events that can trigger it.

“PTSD is often associated with the military, but using EMDR with all clients who would benefit from its support is always worthwhile.”

For further information on Finchale Training College and EMDR therapy log on to www.finchalecollege.co.uk or call 0191 3862634.