EMDR Therapy

What is EMDR?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing. It is an experiential therapy technique that helps you reduce and change your symptoms of psychological and emotional distress. EMDR is unique in that it provides an opportunity to heal from your painful psychological and emotional wounds rather than just treating your symptoms.

How can EMDR help me?

EMDR is a powerful and strategic intervention that addresses many painful or overwhelming experiences. EMDR is used only by trained and licensed clinicians. You and your counselor can discuss if EMDR may be right for you if you have gone through any of the following:

  • trauma or PTSD

  • sudden life change or stressors

  • childhood issues

  • anxiety

  • panic attacks

  • grief & loss

  • divorce

  • medical & hospital procedures & experiences

  • phobias & fears

  • low self-worth

  • guilt & shame

  • addiction

  • OCD

  • natural disasters

  • victimization & bullying  

  • car accident

When you experience something that overwhelms your ability to cope or understand what happened, that event may be encoded and stored in memory dysfunctionally. What this means is that these memories often have the original sensory, emotional, and psychological perceptions of the traumatic experience and you continue suffering as if you were still there.

Provided the right conditions, humans naturally tend toward wellness and health. Additionally, humans are natural meaning makers. EMDR helps establish and maintain the appropriate conditions necessary for healing and meaning making to happen.

EMDR allows you to reprocess these memories accurately and wisely. As a result, you draw a new meaning of the experience and new beliefs about yourself. It also helps you desensitize your mind and body to the emotional, psychological, physical, and spiritual pain of the experience, while decreasing reactivity to triggers of the memory.

How does EMDR work?

EMDR is primarily a technique and will only be used once therapeutic attunement, safety, and trust has been established between you and your counselor. During EMDR, the therapist uses bilateral stimulation (BLS) to activate the thalamus, the area of the brain associated with processing sensory information and delegating that information to memory.

BLS can include eye movements, sound, body movements, or tapping/pulsing. While the thalamus is activated, you begin processing the painful memory. Over the course of the session(s), you will begin to notice less reactivity to the memory and new feelings and beliefs come into awareness. This happens because you and your counselor have established the necessary conditions for your natural healing tendency to take place.

Some notice changes almost immediately while others may need more time. EMDR follows a protocol, however, there is no prescribed number of sessions for your unique experience. You and your counselor work together to determine what is needed and what best serves you. The goal of EMDR is to help you relate to the experience more accurately and wisely.

If you are curious if EMDR may be helpful for you, book your free 15-minute consultation with Ben today.

EMDR was developed by Francine Shapiro in 1987 and has since been approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs/Department of Defense, SAMHSA, World Health Organization, and American Psychological Association as an effective method for treating PTSD and trauma. For more information on EMDR, also visit EMDR International Association (www.emdria.org).