EMDR Therapy Can Help When Other Therapies Haven’t

Have you experienced a trauma that just doesn’t seem to go away?

Do you often feel anxious and other therapy hasn’t seemed to help?

Are fears or phobias controlling your life?

EMDR may be able to help you if you have experienced a trauma and continue to struggle with distressing emotions. You may have days when you are feeling constantly on guard, anxious or are easily startled. Other days maybe you have bad dreams, nightmares or times in which you are pulled back into that traumatic memory and feels like it is happening all over again. EMDR treatment can also help you if you are experiencing anxiety that seems overwhelming or a phobia that is preventing you from living your life.

I have seen clients have success with EMDR when other therapies have not helped. Have you have been struggling with distressing memories, emotions or symptoms and other approaches have not helped. EMDR may provide you with the relief you desire.

What is EMDR Therapy?

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy. EMDR differs from other types of therapy because it uses the brain’s natural ability to heal itself and decrease distress and active psychological symptoms to trauma. During sleep, the brain is able to naturally process difficult experiences so we are no longer bothered by them. Unfortunately, if a psychological trauma occurs, this natural process can be disrupted. This is similar to how the natural healing process is disrupted when a physical trauma occurs. For example, if you get a sliver or object in your hand, the body will become inflamed and cause pain until the object is removed. Much like the sliver, when a psychological trauma occurs, you might experience psychological pain (nightmares, sensitivity to loud noises or familiar stimuli, being easily startled or constantly on watch) until that disruption is removed.

EMDR is able to work with the brain’s natural ability to evolve and adapt, reducing distress from sensitive triggers. This allows you to retain the memory without retaining the distressing emotions attached to that memory. EMDR’s unique approach to healing allows clients who have struggled for years with traumatic past incidents or distressing symptoms to find relief and get their life back.

EMDR Can Have Fast Results for Many Issues

EMDR Therapy was developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro more than 30 years ago. It was originally developed to help people with trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Over the past 30 years, it has been the most widely researched psychological therapy and is only one of three treatment approaches for PTSD approved by the VA.* However, since that time, EMDR has been shown to be effective for other disorders as well, such as depression, anxiety, phobias and panic attacks. It can also help if you are struggling with current life stressors, such as a loss of a job, divorce, life change or recent traumatic event such as a car accident or robbery. Since EMDR taps into a process our brains’ all naturally have, people often report a significant improvement in just 1-3 sessions.

When a client comes in for therapy and is interested in EMDR treatment, I like to proceed in 3 stages: preparation, resourcing and processing. During the first few sessions, you and I will spend some time discussing how EMDR may be able to help you and what you are looking to achieve in therapy. We will work on identifying your current strengths and skills in managing your distress so we can build on those. Then, we will identify barriers that have prevented you from making progress in the past.

Next, during the resourcing stage you will learn specific skills that will heighten your ability to relax and help you decrease distressing emotions. We will fill your toolbox with skills you can use during and between sessions.

Finally, in the processing stage, we will determine specific memories, emotions or symptoms that are causing distress. We use bilateral stimulation (mild light, sound or music that moves from side to side) to encourage the brain to start the natural healing process. Together, this results in a decrease in symptoms.

Clients Are Often Amazed by the Benefits of EMDR

 EMDR therapy has a multitude of uses. As an EMDR therapist, I have had the pleasure of witnessing clients achieve great success through EMDR treatment in just a few sessions that they may not have received otherwise. Clients of mine have been able to return to work, reconnect with friends or family outside the home and have overcome overwhelming fears like driving or being successful in a job interview. Other clients have found decreased distress from a traumatic incident or relief of recurring guilt or shame from past memories.  With a traumatic loss (such as a pregnancy or loved one), they have found resolution or closure.

One client happily stated after a session “I don’t fully understand why it works, but it’s amazing. This does work.” Because EMDR is neurological instead of concrete, clients are often surprised at its effectiveness. However, they are grateful for the benefits they receive from EMDR. You can experience this healing as well.

Questions You May Have About EMDR

Is EMDR like hypnosis?

No, EMDR is very different from hypnosis. The only way that they are similar is that they both assist a client in reducing their distress so they can achieve change. In EMDR, you will be in complete control of the process throughout the session. The therapist will guide you through the session, but you are completely aware the entire time. This allows you to be in control of what you work on, chose if/when you take a break, and can result in you feeling less distress than when you arrived. 

What if my trauma/emotion is too overwhelming?

EMDR is designed to work at your pace. The first step in EMDR is for you to learn strategies on how to reduce your distress so your emotions stay at a manageable level. This is done in two ways: First, we will focus on behavioral relaxation skills and coping skills to reduce your distress when triggered. Second, I will teach you EMDR resourcing skills which are specific to EMDR and focus on being able to contain negative thoughts and emotions and then connect with a calm, peaceful state. This will help the emotions and triggers you are struggling with seem less overwhelming. Then, we work on it one piece at a time during which you will have the ability to stop or take a break whenever necessary. This will help manage your distress level to prevent you from becoming overwhelmed.

 What if I can’t talk about how I feel?

One of the great parts about EMDR is that it is a neurological process. We are just helping the brain do what the brain naturally knows how to do. So, EMDR is very much a non-verbal process. At the beginning, we will gather fragments of information about the incident or emotion that you want to work on. Then, during the session, I will check in for a minute or so to determine how things are going and adjust things if needed. Other than that, you don’t need to talk at all for EMDR to be successful.

How to Get Started with EMDR

If you would like to learn more about how EMDR Therapy may be able to help you, feel free to contact me. I offer a free no obligation, 15-minute consultation and respond to all emails and voicemails within 24 hours. If you would like to schedule an appointment, please call or contact me.  I look forward to hearing from you!

Relevant Blog Posts

*Sources:

Beauvais, D., McCarthy, E., Norman, S., & Hamblen, J. L. (n.d.) Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for PTSD. Retrieved from https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treat/txessentials/emdr_pro.asp

PTSD Treatment Basics. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand_tx/tx_basics.asp