Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) was first described by Shapiro in 1989 and requires the subject to perform relatively rapid movements of the eyes. Its application has been particularly documented in the context of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). EMDR has been described as an integrative psychotherapy, due to its assimilation of various elements from diverse psychotherapies. A number of models have been proposed to account for the role of eye movements in EMDR, these include Shapiro's Adaptive Information Processing Model, Dyck's conditioning model, attentional processing accounts and theories of reverse learning . A recurrent mechanism in a number of these accounts is that of the orientating reflex. MacCollock and Feldman argue that lateral eye-movements trigger an investigatory component of this reflex to assess safety with regard to potential external threats . Where threats are positively identified, a flight or flight response is initiated; in situations where no danger is identified a functional reduction in arousal takes place. Support for this reassurance response in non-clinical patients has been demonstrated using auditory stimuli. Overlap between these concepts and theories related to the perception of tinnitus bode well, especially when one considers the neurophysiological model proposed by Jastreboff.