A psychologist with more than 30 years of clinical experience, Norman Goldwasser, PhD, clinical director for multidisciplinary practice Horizon Psychological Services, helps people work through mood and personality disorders as well as trauma. Based in South Florida, Dr. Norman Goldwasser has employed EMDR therapy for nearly two decades to help patients cope with traumatic memories and experiences.
EMDR, short for “Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing,” can be an effective treatment option for people with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mood disturbances caused by stress and trauma. This form of treatment involves focusing on traumatic memories and the way they are processed, as opposed to other modalities that focus on emotions.
The objective of EMDR is to help people process difficult memories by diminishing their vividness. During EMDR treatment, typically spaced out into weekly and bi-weekly sessions, patients access traumatic memories under the care of their therapist. While accessing difficult memories, patients are instructed to perform commands such as eye movements or tapping. Research suggests that associating such actions with traumatic recollections reduces their stressful impact on a person’s psychological state.
