Introduction to the special section: hypnosis and EMDR. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.

We are happy to introduce this special set of invited contributions on Hypnosis and EMDR. EMDR is an acronym for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. While it has been argued against characterizing hypnosis as a specific type of treatment method (e.g. Frischholz, 1995; 1997a; 1997b; 2000; Frischholz & Spiegel, 1983), this is not the case for EMDR. Like psychoanalysis, EMDR is both an evolving theory about how information is perceived, stored and retrieved in the human brain and a specific treatment method based on this theory (Shapiro, 1995, 2001). In fact, EMDR is a very unique treatment method, which like other types of treatment methods/techniques (e.g. psychoanalytic/psychodynamic therapy, behavior therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, ego-state therapy) can also be incorporated with hypnosis (Hammond, 1990).