EMDR Therapy
What Is EMDR Therapy?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a therapeutic technique that allows you to process upsetting memories, thoughts and feelings related to either a single event or years of chronic distress.
Though EMDR was originally developed to treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or other trauma-related symptoms, it has been successfully used in the treatment for a wide variety of other conditions including anxiety, panic attacks, grief and depression.
As such, EMDR is a highly effective treatment to help you from feeling “stuck” in certain distressing experiences, such as:
- Anxious feelings, unease and physical pains
- Recurrent thoughts or images that disturb you
- Negative self-beliefs such as “I’m not enough,” “I’m stupid” or “I’m selfish”
- Shame and embarrassment resulting from trauma
The History And Development Of EMDR
Dr. Francine Shapiro, a psychologist, developed rapid eye movement therapy in 1987. While taking a walk in the woods, Shapiro noticed that her eye movements correlated with feelings of distress. As she moved her eyes back and forth, she noticed an ability to feel calmer and more regulated.
Using this anecdotal evidence, Shapiro began testing out this idea with friends, family, and colleagues. Eventually, she created what is known today as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy, considered among the most effective methods for deep, lasting healing. Many studies have been done to validate EMDR’s effectiveness as a treatment for a range of mental health challenges.
How Does EMDR Therapy Work?
EMDR is often used in conjunction with conventional talk therapy. Structured EMDR time can be incorporated into 45-minute counseling sessions, using side-to-side eye movements, sounds and taps to rewire the brain’s neural pathways.
This method is uniquely helpful for processing adverse experiences from childhood. When these experiences are held onto or left unprocessed, negative beliefs and patterns can emerge and hinder our emotional well-being. EMDR therapy encourages confidence, promotes a healthy mindset and offers clarity on personal and professional goals.
What To Expect
EMDR is an 8-phase treatment. In general, the preliminary phases include History and Treatment Planning, Preparation and Assessment. From there, we’ll move onto the processing phases of Desensitization, Installation, Body Scan, Closure and Re-evaluation.
As a therapist specializing in EMDR, my treatment process looks as follows:
Step 1. After selecting a target concern, I will ask you about the symptoms that impact you most, what negative beliefs you’ve developed, which positive beliefs you would like to have, and your overall distress level.
Step 2. Incorporating other counseling methods, we will work together on coping resources that can offer relief when you feel distressed throughout the EMDR process.
Step 3. Once you’re sufficiently resourced, we will begin to process the memory/issue/belief with eye movements, sounds, or light tapping, evaluating what is coming up for you throughout the treatment. Ordinarily, distress levels decrease, and positive self-belief increases as the process repeats.
While processing painful past experiences via EMDR therapy, you’ll have control over the intensity of what you’re remembering. It will feel as if you are watching your memories on a television and you’re in possession of a remote control that will allow you to adjust the intensity of what you’re seeing.
Essentially, EMDR allows you to develop new neural pathways, thereby facilitating your discovery of insight and ability to make significant changes in your life. In turn, you will feel empowered to pursue the challenges, activities and goals that are important to you.
How Is EMDR Different From Other Forms Of Therapy?
EMDR targets distress at the brain and body level, making it a quicker treatment than other counseling approaches. That said, the required length of required treatment varies from person to person and is dependent on the type of trauma and how severely you’ve been affected by it, as well as by your life circumstances, coping abilities and the extent of previous trauma.
In addition, EMDR allows the observation and processing of childhood memories to happen more comfortably and safely. Its ability to reprogram the brain will help you feel safer, capable and more aware of how adverse childhood experiences have impacted you. And with this perspective, you can let go of your negative beliefs and worries. EMDR helps you to achieve:
- Boosted self-esteem and coping capacities
- Better, more connected relationships
- Relief from disruptive thoughts or flashbacks
- A life lived more in the present and less in the past
- Less stress and more joy in life
My Experience Using EMDR In My Practice
I am passionate about working to heal high-achieving career-aged adults—especially women—who suffer from chronic anxiety, stress, panic attacks, and difficulties managing life stressors. Clients often come to me feeling stuck and frustrated because of unresolved issues from their past.
As an EMDR therapist with postgraduate training in psychoanalytic psychotherapy from the Training Institute of Mental Health, I am uniquely qualified to help you rewrite your life story so that you experience more joy and less stress in your life. I too have had to process adverse childhood experiences using EMDR and talk therapy, meaning I have been on “both sides of the couch,” so to speak. My personal and professional perspective as a wife, mother, and mental health clinician will help me relate to your struggles, and I am confident that EMDR will help you thrive.
You Can Heal Your Past
EMDR treatment facilitates the reconsolidation of traumatic memories and builds resilience that can help you deal with and bounce back from life’s ups and downs in a lasting way. To find out more about my approach as an EMDR therapist or to schedule a free consultation, contact me.