"The first seven years of experience with EMDR has shown that it can be a very effective treatment of PTSD. Shapiro's method has opened up a novel approach that can markedly benefit people suffering from PTSD, while baffling those of us who would like to understand mechanisms of action with traditional paradigms." --Bessel A. van der Kolk, M.D.

"Finally it is here!! This long awaited text by Dr. Shapiro helps ground clinicians both novice and experienced in EMDR to the origins, evolution, description, and uses of this effective accelerated information processing method. EMDR, which promotes patients' mastery over rather than depletion by overwhelming life experiences, is captured vividly through case descriptions, bountiful examples, and specific verbalizations. Dr. Shapiro's ability to walk the clinician through familiar clinical terrain in a novel way allows for a comfortable shift from more traditional therapeutic modalities to more innovative and targeted treatment strategies applied to diverse diagnostic categories. This book is an essential addition to the library of the forward thinking clinician." --Catherine G. Fine, Ph.D., Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, PA

1. "Excellent! A practical, step-by-step guide to the EMDR approach. This book will be an invaluable aid both for therapists who are first learning this model as well as for experienced EMDR practitioners."

2. "EMDR has generated a great deal of controversy. Thankfully, Shapiro's book is successful in summarizing the available outcome data on EMDR and in presenting plausible hypotheses for its mode of operation. Her reasoning appears scientifically sound and responsible."

3. "Throughout this volume, Shapiro has wisely included transcripts of interchanges between clients and therapists that illustrate the application of EMDR. She also provides helpful suggestions on exactly what to do when clients get stuck or progress seems slow." --Jeffrey Young, Ph.D., Cognitive Therapy Centers of New York & Fairfield County (CT)

"Finally, the definitive text on Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing! Shapiro's writing style is very accessible. Complex concepts seem to flow off the page and into one's mind. Each is presented in a clear and concise manner. The detailed descriptions and practical applications of virtually every aspect of EMDR makes this book a valuable resource. The presentation of the supportive research material is particularly important for those practicing this new and powerful tool in the treatment of traumatic stress. The book will not only serve mental health professionals who are newly trained in EMDR therapy, but it will be an important handbook for the experienced EMDR clinician." --Jeffrey T. Mitchell, Ph.D., President, International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, Ellicott City, Maryland; Clinical Associate Professor, Emergency Health Services Department, University of Maryland

"Francine Shapiro proposes a method of working rapidly and effectively with a class of problems that have been considered quite intractable--and it involves more than just waving a magic wand. So if you want to learn how she does it, or criticize her intelligently, take a good look at this book." --John Weakland, Ch.E. (Chemical Engineer), Senior Research Fellow, MRI (Mental Research Institute)

"This book and the treatment Shapiro invented will force a paradigm shift in the way we conceptualize traumatic experiences, the unwanted psychosocial consequences they cause, and the most humane methodologies for affecting relief. For this alone the book will become a classic." --Charles R. Figley, Ph.D., Florida State University, Tallahasse, Florida

"EMDR is a proven elixir for psychological trauma and its sequelae. Clinicians: Restore life to your treatment; learn this imaginative new method."
(OR)
"Trauma can rack the brains of clients and clinicians, alike. EMDR is a proven elixir. Therapists: Restore life to your treatment. Learn this imaginative new method." --Jeffrey K. Zeig, Ph.D., Director, The Milton H. Erickson Foundation

"EMDR is an exciting development. Dr. Shapiro's attention to careful treatment planning, detailed protocols, and research data makes this valuable volume essential reading for clinicians interested in applying this method for time-effective treatment. I recommend it." --Michael F. Hoyt, Ph.D., Author, Brief Therapy and Managed Care; Editor, Constructive Therapies, Vols. 1 & 2.

"The writing is clear with general guidelines balanced by exemplary case illustrations to illustrate specific procedures and sample phrases to be used by the therapist. ..the description of the benefits to be expected is balanced throughout by descriptions of the special precautions, possible side effects, difficult populations encountered and procedural variations needed." --Nathan Azrin, Ph.D. , Full Professor, Nova Southeastern university, Fort Lauderdale, FL for Psychotherapy in Private Practice

"For visual learners, this book is a welcome complement to the primarily verbal and experiential EMDR training workshops. Shapiro also trained as a literary critic, has included 18 pages of references and four helpful appendices to round out this well-written book." --Lawrence F. Berley, M.D., Erickson Foundation Newsletter.

"The Accelerated Information Processing model of EMDR rapidly focuses and sharpens traditional psychotherapeutic skills with fresh insights that introduce new levels of competence and accountability." --Ernest Rossi, Ph.D. , Author: The Psychobiology of Mind-Body Healing.

"EMDR is a valuable addition to our therapeutic arsenal. It is not a panacea, but it has tremendous power in addressing the sequelae of trauma and a wide variety of psychological problems." --Richard P. Kluft, M.D., Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Temple University School of Medicine, author: Childhood Antecedents of Multiple Personality Disorder

"The speed at which change occurs during EMDR contradicts the traditional notion of time as essential for psychological healing. Shapiro has integrated elements from many different schools of psychotherapy into her protocols, making EMDR applicable to a variety of clinical populations and accessible to clinicians from different orientations." --Bessel A. van der Kolk, M.D., Boston University, author: Traumatic Stress: The Effects of Overwhelming Experience on Mind, Body, and Society

"People often have 'stuck issues' such as phobias, or attitudes about themselves, or tendencies to 'freeze' on the verge of doing something they would really like to do. These stuck issues persist even with a clear understanding of their senselessness and quite often even after many years of otherwise productive psychotherapy. EMDR is a highly effective clinical approach leading to the rapid resolution of chronic psychological problems like these. It has changed the way in which I practice psychotherapy and has enabled me to help my patients resolve issues which had previously seemed unrelenting." --Sandra Shapiro, Ph.D. , Private Practice, New York City, Board Member, National Institute for the Psychotherapies, Associate Professor of Psychology, City University of New York

"EMDR has bridged the mind-body connection and moved psychotherapy into the 21st Century. It is exciting to see this new book on EMDR designed for the consumer and the curious professional." --Ron Doctor, Professor of Psychology, California State University, co-author: The Encyclopedia of Fears, Phobias, and Anxiety

"Dr. Francine Shapiro's EMDR is the most powerful and integrative intervention I have learned in the past five years." --John C. Norcross, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of Scranton, coauthor of Changing for Good and Handbook of Psychotherapy Integration

"EMDR is a novel approach to the treatment of the traumatized that has blossomed over the last few years into a more general approach to treatment. It is now being applied by its practitioners to a wide variety of clinical conditions...This eagerly-awaited book is the first from which clinicians can study this rapidly-growing form of psychotherapy...[The author] writes well and she writes responsibly. She addresses the special concerns one must raise in treating the newly traumatized, and offers appropriate cautions about the use of EMDR with dissociative disorder patients...Few new therapies have been introduced by such a thoughtful and circumspect first text...There is an enjoyable freshness, optimism, and energy to this book, which commends it well to the reader...EMDR appears to be an approach to therapy worth exploring, especially in the treatment of the traumatized, and Shapiro's text launches it well." --Richard P. Kluft, American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis

"[EMDR is] a significant component of treatment in the Trauma Recovery Program at the Menninger Clinic....The publication of Shapiro's book is a developmental milestone for EMDR. The volume should be welcome to clinicians and researchers alike as a comprehensive explication of the treatment and its applications. Although developed initially to treat symptoms of posttraumatic stress, EMDR subsequently has been extended to a range of other problems and disorders. EMDR has won a large number of enthusiasts among clinicians who have experienced success with it and patients who feel that they have benefited from it." --Jon G. Allen, Ph.D., and Lisa Lewis, Ph.D., in the Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic

"In a very few years, EMDR has grown from a bizarre sounding new technique to the most extensively researched treatment for PTSD (with numerous additional applications also being pursued)....A number of recent, rather convincing studies has established EMDR as a legitimate and powerful treatment." --Professional Psychology: Research and Practice

"....This pragmatic book is important as the definitive presentation of the EMDR method. Shapiro's text describes an efficient and structured clinical method in psychology....The heart of this responsible text delineates a complex approach to PTSD and related disorders. Clinicians will welcome its detailed explanation, honed over five years' experience using EMDR and training practitioners in the method....This is a well-written book. The language throughout is clear and informative, and obvious care went into detailed descriptions of the clinical procedures and related cautions. Several case examples and five annotated transcripts nicely illustrate subtleties in the method and the therapist's client-centered role...." --Contemporary Psychology

"In a very few years, EMDR has grown from a bizarre sounding new technique to the most extensively researched treatment for PTSD (with numerous additional applications also being pursued)....A number of recent, rather convincing studies have established EMDR as a legitimate and powerful treatment." --Professional Psychology