EMDR Therapy
I’m so glad you’re checking out this page, because I LOVE EMDR Therapy. It’s hard work, don’t get me wrong; but the results are amazing… stay tuned!
The name may sound confusing, but let me break it down for you…
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a non-traditional therapy using your brain’s natural ability to heal itself, much like your skin heals itself when you have a cut.
However, if there is a foreign object in the cut, the wound doesn’t heal properly, and pain and sensitivity may be ongoing.
Your brain is similar – fears and negative beliefs can keep you stuck, where the slightest “bump” brings back the pain all over again and continued trauma and negative experiences deepen the wounds. EMDR works to remove the blocks to healing, much like removing foreign matter from physical wounds; then healing moves at a much faster pace.
There is real change that occurs in the neurological system.
Whether you are looking for help for a single life event or an ongoing pattern of problems, EMDR can be helpful.
Clients often experience an immediate reduction in symptoms, such as reduced anxiety, avoidance, and flashbacks, and healing generally moves much faster than in talk therapy alone. Once a few memories or “targets” are addressed, other negative events that your brain has stored along with them often resolve quickly, for lasting relief.
Events that are painful to recall, like bullying or abuse, become memories that you can handle and make decisions around without them having a negative impact your life. As space opens in your head and your life, there’s more room to positively work on areas of your life, such as relationships, career, social connection, and more.
EMDR was first developed in the 1980s to treat symptoms of PTSD for trauma and events held in explicit memory or memory that is easily recalled.
Researchers and practitioners have expanded EMDR to address complex trauma and neglect from the early months and years of life, where memory is unable to be recalled directly but is stored in the right brain in implicit memory.
EMDR works by helping move memory to a more functional part of the brain where it is experienced as being in the past, rather than experiencing the symptoms in the present. In other words, it doesn’t have to feel like it’s happening repeatedly, being triggered at the drop of a hat.
EMDR is an evidence-based treatment that has been effectively applied to Trauma, Anxiety, OCD, Depression, Eating Disorders, Grief, Addictions, Relationships, Attachment Disorders, Chronic Pain, and much more.
One of the things I enjoy about my work is continually expanding my knowledge in this field and bringing it to my clients, in creative treatment approaches that help them not only feel better (reducing the symptoms), but that address the root causes of the symptoms so they can experience long-term change and healing.
What we’ll actually do…
In the beginning and throughout the process, I’ll help you build new tools and skills that you can implement in your life immediately. And they’ll come in handy when you start working through difficult memories, anxiety, or stressors.
We’ll talk about what’s bothering you most, and I’ll help you break it down into manageable chunks and put words to the feelings.
For example, you might reach out to me because you’re having panic attacks, and anxiety feels unmanageable. As we talk about your current and past experiences, we’ll uncover other times in life when you felt a similar way, under different circumstances. I’ll capture those in an EMDR plan and that’s our road map to the next steps in EMDR.
So… you may be wondering about this eye movement thing and what that means.
Your eyes are moving back and forth like what happens in the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage of sleep when you’re dreaming… but you’ll be fully awake instead of asleep.
I’ll move my hand back and forth in front of you and without moving your head, you’ll track my finger with your eyes. Eye movements are a form of bi-lateral stimulation, meaning a rhythmic right-left, back and forth pattern that affects both sides of the body and brain. Sometimes tapping or pulsars may be used in place of eye movements.
Before we start, I’ll ask you to bring up the disturbing memory to your mind. After 30-60 seconds of eye tracking, I’ll ask you about what you’re seeing, thinking, or feeling. I may guide you to return to the original image or focus on what you’re feeling in your body, and we’ll continue doing eye movements until you feel calmer when you recall the memory.
For example, you might start by thinking about the worst part of an accident. When you remember it, it’s an 8 on a scale of 0-10 of how much it bothers you. After a number of eye movement sets and checking in with you each time and adjusting the directions as needed, your disturbance can go down to 0 or 1. This is the desensitization part of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.
As the memory becomes less disturbing, you’ll begin to think clearer and see perspectives you didn’t before. For example, in the case of an accident, you may realize that it wasn’t your fault or that you did the best you could in the circumstances, rather than blaming yourself. You may recall people who were there and helped and feel more cared for and less alone, whereas previously you could only feel the fear or keep replaying particular moments.
Maybe this sounds a little too good to be true?
I’m with you. I thought so, too… until several people I knew tried it, and it helped. (By the way, this was long before I even became a therapist!)
One person was having PTSD symptoms in the form of severe anxiety, emotional outbursts, and flashbacks, but had trouble talking about the abuse. After EMDR, his flashbacks stopped, and his anxiety gradually improved,with additional therapy and support.
A teen girl tried EMDR to address a phobia, and EMDR combined with additional exposure therapy enabled her to get the medical care she needed.
I read everything about it I could get my hands on when I first heard of EMDR. I keep learning as a therapist through reading, training, consultation with other EMDR therapists, and, most importantly, working with my clients.
As I’ve used EMDR over and over, I’ve learned to tune in to what my clients are experiencing in the moment. I’m able to be flexible and creative; to roll with the twists and turns as memories and feelings surface and subside; and to be a calm, steady presence from beginning to end. At the end of an EMDR session, I’m usually grinning ear to ear, as I see women and men beside me describe feeling “powerful,” “relieved,” and “free” from the burdens they were carrying.
I love this work, because it works like nothing I’ve ever seen or experienced!
Don’t take just take my word for it…
Research backs it up. EMDR is recognized as a highly effective treatment by the American Psychiatric Association, the World Health Organization, and the Department of Defense.
And real people who have tried EMDR will tell you what it has meant to them. Check this out!
Piqued your curiosity…
…but you still can’t get your head around it?
This animated video makes it simple, and I hope it’s helpful for you to watch.
“Hope.” “Magic.” “Relief.”
These are the words my clients tell me over and over, as they get into their journey with EMDR therapy.
Magic – “I don’t know what you did, but that was magic. The images stopped and I could talk to my daughter and be calm for her, without being overwhelmed by my own pain.”
Relief – “I’ve felt freer than I’ve felt in years, like a weight has been lifted. What a relief. People are telling me I seem lighter and more approachable. I’m not as angry as I was; and I can accept that it’s over, and she did the best she could.”
This can be your experience and words, too!
I can imagine that you still have questions about EMDR. It’s a lot of information, and you’re trying to absorb it when you’re already feeling overwhelmed.
Your situation doesn’t neatly fit into one of the examples above, so you’re not even sure this applies to you.
Call me and ask about EMDR therapy. We can talk about if it’s right for you and, if so, how to get started! Call (404) 994-1034.