EMDR Therapy for Overcoming Trauma
What Is EMDR Therapy and How Can It Help You Overcome Trauma?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is a powerful treatment for a wide range of mental health issues. It started as a treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and has since become an indispensable tool to treat the symptoms of trauma, including anxiety and depression.
EMDR can help no matter if your traumatic event or experience was recent or happened years ago. Trauma and PTSD can sometimes make you feel like you can’t move on from what happened or what your feeling, but with treatments like EMDR, it is possible. Maybe your trauma is something no one else knows about, and you are finally in a place where you are ready to process and move on. You are tired of the past controlling your present.
In therapy, we don’t compare traumas. Your triggering event or circumstances do not have to be catastrophic to be important and valid. What is traumatic and creates a trauma response in one person might not be the same for someone else.
EMDR Is Highly Effective
EMDR can help with other mental health issues as well, including grief, depression, anxiety, OCD, and eating disorders. Trauma can happen in childhood or adulthood and can involve sexual or physical assault, the sudden death of a loved one, a distressing life event, an injury or illness, or even a toxic relationship or divorce, among other issues.
No matter the source or the symptoms, EMDR can help. It can treat a variety of symptoms like panic attacks, fight or flight responses, avoidance issues, phobias, or sleep issues, including nightmares or insomnia. Organizations like the American Psychological Association, the World Health Organization, and the US Department Of Veteran Affairs all recognize how effective this treatment is.
Have any questions? Send me a message!
How The EMDR Process Works
EMDR addresses traumatic memories and allows them to be directly resolved, incorporating a mind-body connection as well. EMDR helps people authentically feel better and address issues quicker than other modalities or traditional counseling. It is grounded in neuroscience and uses bilateral stimulation—which activates both sides of your brain with techniques like rapid eye movements, tapping, or auditory cues— to confront trauma on a neurological level in therapy.
EMDR can relieve distressing memories and emotions, reduce the impact of trauma on your present-day thoughts and behaviors, and improve your overall emotional well-being. You may start feeling some relief from symptoms like anxiety, nightmares or big emotions relatively quickly after beginning EMDR. In the long term, it can help you build resilience and move forward in your life with a greater sense of peace and empowerment.
Sometimes, your emotional wound can be so distressing that we won’t jump into EMDR right away. EMDR always includes prep work to ensure you have effective coping tools to calm your autonomic nervous system before we begin the process. These skills can be seen as a life jacket of sorts to help you manage emotional responses as you go through the process of EMDR.
The 8 Phases
Of EMDR Therapy
EMDR gives your mind a way to reorganize and heal old wounds. There are eight phases in the process:
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Understanding your trauma and how certain triggers impact you is important in the planning of your treatment.
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Coping strategies for managing your emotions and calming your nervous system are important to learn before, during, and after your sessions.
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During this phase, you will access your negative memories, images, beliefs, and/or bodily sensations associated with your trauma.
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While you focus on the traumatic memory and related thoughts and feelings, I will prompt bilateral movement and stimulation techniques (including rapid eye movements, oscillating tones, alternating vibrations).
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EMDR helps transform the emotional and cognitive impact of the trauma by facilitating adaptive information processing.
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This is when we pinpoint and reduce any remaining physical discomfort that might still be connected to your trauma memory.
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Techniques for relaxation and reflection can help you return to a state of balance. We’ll review your self-regulation skills and determine if you need additional support.
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We will determine if we need to repeat any desensitization or reprocessing steps in ongoing therapy sessions.
"Trauma is not what happens to you, but what happens inside you as a result of what happens to you."
~ Dr. Gabor Maté
I Look Forward To Helping You In Your Mental Health Journey
I have been a certified EMDR Therapist since 2008, and have used EMDR with 1000’s of clients. People often reach out to me when they no longer have the bandwidth or tolerance to continue without some relief. You don’t have to wait until you reach that point of distress before seeking help. I have engaged in EMDR therapy personally and experienced the relief it can bring.
From my perspective, the deep emotional wounds we may experience in life can be thought of as a broken bone. If you set and treat it properly, it heals strong, but if left untreated, it can heal improperly and cause ongoing pain. By having treatment like EMDR, you give your traumatic experience a chance to heal. EMDR enables healing on a neurological level, which is in essence a more effective change than what traditional therapeutic techniques with a counselor allow.
I want you to know:
Relief is possible.
A Comprehensive Treatment
Rather than resolving issues on the surface, EMDR gets to the core of your trauma. Let me help you alter the course of your life and put you back into the driver's seat without trauma leading the way.
Over and over, I have seen clients struggling with intense emotional pain make incredible changes with EMDR therapy. It is considered a go-to treatment for PTSD and trauma for a reason - its mechanisms and impacts are almost unparalleled in modern psychotherapy. Typically, patients complete weekly EMDR sessions or resort to EMDR intensives for a quicker recovery process.
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Let’s Unload Your Heaviest Burdens And Get Your Life Back On Track
If you’re interested in EMDR therapy and looking for a therapist who can help you, please contact me for a free consultation and to find out more about this powerful therapeutic modality.