EMDR therapy: guiding you on your journey to healing

EMDR therapy, which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a type of psychotherapy that helps individuals process and heal from traumatic memories by focusing on a disturbing memory while simultaneously engaging in bilateral stimulation, like eye movements, tapping, or sounds. This can help to reduce the emotional intensity of the memory and reprocess it in a healthier way; it's often used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other trauma-related issues. 

EMDR differs from traditional psychotherapy and even other trauma therapy modalities because it does not require a lot of talking, verbal processing, or detailed conversations or discussion of the traumatic event. EMDR has been proven to be highly effective without discussing all the details of the trauma one has experienced.

There are steps and stages to EMDR therapy, and one of the first steps is assessing for readiness. Together we will evaluate your readiness to begin EMDR through discussion and assessments. Careful consideration is taken to ensure clients are ready to process traumatic memories.

A client’s well-being is always priority. Resourcing, developing calming strategies, developing strong social support and connections, and finding helpful coping skills are all ensured prior to reprocessing sessions begin. Through building and establishing the therapeutic relationship, we will collaboratively explore readiness to explore deeper rooted challenges.

Some things to consider: EMDR may be right for you if…

• You’re dealing with PTSD or experiencing negative emotions related to trauma.

• You’re able to tolerate your emotions, including painful emotions.

• Other types of traditional talk therapy have not worked well for you.

• You have a hard time verbally processing the traumatic memories and/or events. (EMDR does not require as much talking, and it’s still very effective).

• You feel ready to process your emotions and traumatic experience(s) to alleviate associated symptoms.

We will work together to determine what works best for your and what your current needs are. Please reach out with any additional questions about EMDR therapy. I’m happy to help answer your questions.

EMDR consists of 8 phases, and the first couple phases are related to gathering more information about your history, treatment planning, assessing for readiness, explaining the EMDR process, answering questions and concerns, resourcing (developing coping strategies and calming skills), and ensuring you have a good support system at home and/or in the community. HERE is an infographic of the phases of EMDR.

As stated above, EMDR is not require as much verbal processing. Clients are able to work through difficult memories without re-telling their stories or explaining all the details of the traumatic event. EMDR sessions often consist of reviewing and processing any emotions or thoughts that have developed between sessions and assessing how clients are feeling. The session may then proceed with the phase of EMDR that the client is currently working through, or it may be adapted to meet the current needs during that session. EMDR, like all other therapy approaches here, are individualized to the client’s unique needs. If there are other questions about EMDR treatment, please reach out to me. We can always discuss any concerns you may have.