Question

Kira has experienced anxiety-provoking flashbacks from her tour of duty in the Iraq. The therapist has Kira think about these upsetting thoughts, while the therapist moves a pencil back and forth rapidly in front of her eyes. This technique is known as a) Cognitive restructuring

b) EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
c) Systematic desensitization
d) Hypnotherapy

Answer 1

b) EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). The technique described is EMDR therapy, used to treat conditions like PTSD by combining rapid eye movements and recalling traumatic memories.

Step-by-step explanation:

The technique described in the question is b) EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). EMDR is a type of therapy that is used to treat conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It involves the therapist guiding the patient to think about their upsetting thoughts or traumatic memories while simultaneously moving their eyes back and forth rapidly.

This technique is believed to help process and integrate traumatic experiences, reducing the emotional distress associated with them. The rapid eye movements during EMDR may mimic the natural processing that occurs during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, which is when the brain consolidates memories.