EMDR Therapy
What Is EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or simply EMDR, uses eye movement and bilateral (side-to-side) stimulation to resolve disturbing memories that a traumatic response has rendered “stuck” in the brain and body. Helping the brain resume its natural healing process, EMDR is a therapy that can help with trauma-specific issues, as well as anxiety, depression, grief, addiction, and chronic pain, among others.
EMDR allows you to reprocess painful memories in a way that neutralizes difficult feelings and sensations, ultimately minimizing the effect of trauma on your life.
The History Of EMDR
Dr. Francine Shapiro began developing rapid eye movement therapy in the 1980s upon noticing a connection between eye movements and the degree of distress her clients felt when recalling a difficult memory. Initially, Dr. Shapiro faced a lot of skepticism about her findings, but she persisted with her research and advanced EMDR into what it is today.
Now considered one of the most effective trauma treatments to date, EMDR has undergone extensive research and testing. The American Psychiatric Association, U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs, and World Health Organization (WHO) are just a few of the national and international organizations to corroborate its effectiveness, and clinicians across the globe use EMDR to treat a wide range of mental health symptoms and conditions.
How Therapy Using EMDR Can Help
The human brain has amazing ways of resolving trauma, but the body’s natural healing process is often thwarted. A child’s brain is not equipped to process trauma, while adults’ stress response is typically geared around survival. In both cases, the brain will attempt to return to its “normal,” healed state, leaving trauma stored in the body and wreaking havoc on a person’s life by manifesting as uncomfortable physical, mental, emotional, and relational symptoms.
EMDR works by bringing stored trauma to the surface and rewiring the brain’s stress response to generate new and more positive feelings, associations, and beliefs.
The Treatment Process
Once you and your therapist have determined that EMDR would be an effective way to address your symptoms, you will go through the eight phases of treatment: history taking, preparation, assessment, desensitization, installation, body scan, closure, and re-evaluation. The process is designed to be repeated until the target memory has been effectively reprocessed.
This happens by giving attention to negative or uncomfortable images you remember, beliefs and emotions you feel, or negative body sensations related to a distressing event. Then, using bilateral stimulation—which may be side-to-side eye movement, auditory signals, or tapping on the body—an EMDR therapist goes through each phase of the treatment until the fight, flight, freeze, or fawn stress response is neutralized. New, healthier beliefs will replace outdated beliefs, thereby easing the pain and distress of unhealed wounds.
EMDR can be used alongside other treatment interventions, and sessions typically last between 60 and 90 minutes.
How EMDR Differs From Other Approaches
Unlike many other approaches, EMDR does not focus on changing emotions, thoughts, behaviors, and doing “homework” outside of the counseling space. Rather, these changes happen naturally as treatment progresses.
Furthermore, EMDR does not require you to discuss your trauma at length in therapy. Verbal processing isn’t essential for the brain’s innate healing mechanisms to work. Instead, you will be asked to focus on a target image or experience as you repeat the phases of treatment, essentially transforming negative beliefs or associations into neutral or even positive ones.
EMDR At A New Day Family Counseling
Our practice is trauma-informed and committed to offering effective treatment to adults, children, and their families, no matter their struggles. Our practice founder, Gwen Ginski, began incorporating EMDR into our therapy services in 2020 upon realizing how quickly and effectively clients conquered their challenges compared to other treatment approaches. Furthermore, EMDR is recognized as a completely safe and recommended trauma-informed therapy for children.
In addition to psychoeducation about how trauma affects the mind and
body, clients using EMDR will be offered calming, containment, and coping skills to help relax the body when triggered. When appropriate, we will also integrate aspects of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), as well as Play or Sand Therapy, into EMDR treatment.
Not only does EMDR quickly and effectively reduce symptoms related to trauma, anxiety, low self-esteem, and relationship challenges—it enables you to be more resilient and adaptive in the face of life’s obstacles. Therapy using EMDR has the potential to improve your functioning, relationships, and overall quality of life.
Quick, Effective Healing Is Available
If you or your child struggle with anxious ruminations, angry outbursts, low self-esteem, irritability, sleep disturbance, or other symptoms related to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or trauma, EMDR therapy through A New Day Family Counseling can offer hope, healing, and relief. For more information about our EMDR therapists or to get scheduled, contact us.