What is IEMT?

Integral Eye Movement Therapy (IEMT) uses eye movements to restructure the brain’s thought processes. It provides a quick, gentle, effective treatment for psychological disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, stress and reactive depression. Importantly, it creates long-lasting changes.

Why use IEMT?

Life events can leave us with bad memories which often have a profound effect on our lives. IEMT enables you to unlearn these negative memories so you can make more informed decisions for a better quality of life.

IEMT works on memories with negative emotions that have occurred in the past. It is not used for those memories with positive emotion or for events that are yet to occur.

What are the benefits of IEMT?

IEMT is entirely suited to our fast-paced lives. It is quick and effective. Simply attend the three sessions, follow the instructions and reap the benefits. There is no need for you to change your lifestyle (except when being treated for social anxiety). (video).

IEMT is long-lasting. You will be unable to recall negative memories over a long period of time, even years. The only side effects are the feelings of joy and happiness following each session.

IEMT is content free. There are no long discussions, regressions or re-living past events or traumas. Confidentiality is maintained at all times.

IEMT removes negative memories from your thoughts. Think of it as a system clean-up. This is very different from personal development methods like NLP which add layers of positivity to existing thought processes.

You’ll become naturally confident following IEMT treatment.

How the past affects the present and future

You cannot change the past, but you can change the future.

It’s obvious that we focus on the present and the future. However, a damaged past can influence the future.

Throughout life, events can “scar” your memory with negative emotions. These negative thoughts mean we’re unable to live life to the fullest.

Fears we may experience include:

• Workplace – the fear of public speaking, responsibility, rejection, failure, networking
• Socially – the fear of rejection, failure, flying, low self-esteem, relationships and health
• PTSD and phobias

What makes IEMT different from other psychological techniques.

IEMT is fast, quick, precise and effective. The treatment takes three sessions (a discovery session and 2 treatment sessions).

This simple approach is different to techniques such as psychoanalysis, cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and counselling.

Psychoanalysis treatment varies between six months and the rest of your life. The weekly or monthly therapy centres around the past – usually a regression back to childhood.

CBT and counselling are modern versions of psychoanalysis and treatment time can take six months or longer. Again, these therapies focus on past events or traumas.

Rapid Eye Movement Therapies

There are two techniques used to treat psychological disorders like PTSD and anxiety:

• Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR): The eyes are moved in a single plane – left to right and back again. This structured technique deals with the memory in the brain and treatment takes around 10 sessions.
• IEMT: The eyes are moved in two dimensions and cover six points of reference. This technique focusses on the emotions that are linked to the memory. Treatment is usually complete after three sessions.

From the moment I first encountered IEMT, I have been amazed at how quickly the treatment works. Tangible changes occur during the treatment sessions. This is very quick compared with the slower pace of more established and traditional treatments.

The origins of IEMT

In the early 2000s, Andrew T. Austin was a member of the neurosurgical team in a major hospital on England’s South Coast. During a routine test being carried out by neurosurgeons to determine brain function, a patient was asked to look at the surgeon’s finger and follow its movements.

Andrew noticed that as the surgeon repeated a particular hand movement, the patient’s eyes would involuntarily flicker and the patient would forget the image the surgeon had asked them to retain. Subsequent research by Andrew discovered that the link between a bad or unpleasant memory and its unwanted emotion could be cut. He went on to create a treatment that could be replicated with other patients. That treatment is IEMT.

The spread of IEMT around the world

There are now many certified IEMT practitioners across India, Europe and North America. As a result, thousands of people have been treated and are now living normal lives.

It has been used successfully in the treatment of psychological illnesses like PTSD, trauma and various types of anxiety. It can also be used to treat physical conditions such as psoriasis and various behavioural conditions.

There are many different treatments for a wide range of disorders like phobias, stress, etc. However, IEMT is the treatment of choice for those working in the UK’s armed forces, law enforcement and emergency services who have been diagnosed with PTSD.

IEMT has been proven to be effective. IEMT practitioners receive most of their clients from personal referrals.