EMDR Therapy
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is different from traditional talk therapy.
I am a certified EMDR therapist through EMDRIA.
EMDR is a somatic, body based, extensively researched and effective psychotherapy method proven to help people recover from trauma and other challenging life experiences that are contributing to distress, physical activation, shame and self-blame.
This helps to digest and process information stuck in your system from one time or chronic, ongoing trauma.
We get to the places that the words can’t always reach.
How EMDR Helps
EMDR therapy is designed to resolve unprocessed traumatic experiences in the brain and body by using bilateral stimulation or BLS. That might sound scary, but it’s really not. It’s simply a back and forth rhythmical pattern - which can take the form of eye movements, hand-held pulsers, ear tones or tapping on the arms, legs, or chest.
While focusing on the image, feelings, body sensations and negative beliefs associated with a “stuck” memory and using bilateral stimulation at the same time, your brain can digest and effectively process the trauma.
The idea is to have one foot in the past and one in the present. This is not a re-experiencing of trauma, but instead a reprocessing.
In practice, this looks like gathering history, identifying themes and stuck points to address, preparing with grounding and resourcing, choosing “target” memories that hold significance as far as where you leaned these unhelpful beliefs about yourself or the world -
then processing these memories with bilateral stimulation in a series of 30 second - 1 minutes sets. Over the course of these sets I will ask what you’re noticing in the present. This can be anything from body sensations, thoughts, part of the memories, changing of beliefs and eventually a neutrality of traumatic events.
One of the many ways this is different from traditional talk therapy is that you don’t have to give verbal details and narratives if you don’t want to - and this can be a big relief for many people who prefer not to share details of trauma.
For many clients, EMDR can yield positive results in less time than traditional talk therapy alone. But that will depend on your personal history. For example, a one time traumatic event may be more easily resolved that a chronic history of trauma.
To learn more, visit EMDRIA, the organization dedicated to the highest standards of excellence in EMDR training, education and research.
EMDR Virtual Sessions
There are several ways of utilizing EMDR therapy in virtual sessions including, self tapping on the body, directed eye movements and tactile BLS.
In my opinion, a great option is for you to purchase your own set of tactile pulsers to use at home to get the best experience. Another benefit to having your own set is that many people enjoy using them as a regulation and calming resource at home (I will provide instruction on how to use them this way - not to process trauma on your own).
It’s an investment in your healing and they are relatively inexpensive at about $129 and can be purchased below. Please note: I am not affiliated in any way with the company, this is simply at option that aids in the effectiveness of treatment while not meeting in person.
Addressing The Roots
If we think of the symptoms we struggle with as weeds in a garden. We could just pluck the leaves off and hope they never return, but likely those leaves will pop up again.
To really remove the weeds permanently we have to find and address the roots.
In EMDR, I learn your history, the themes you’re struggling with, we identify some of the earlier (and current) life experiences that contribute to feeling stuck and distressed. Then we process these experiences so that they no longer feel like they’re happening right now. We help put them into the proper place in time, become more of a neutral memory of the past instead of a reliving in the present.
We can’t make it so these things never happened, but we can help neutralize the distress attached to them as well as shift negative beliefs of the world and self to more positive or neutral.
I’m passionate about EMDR…
Because this therapy is deep somatic work, the healing is profound and goes beyond words.
This type of transformational work can result in changes and shifts on an internal level and felt sense - in your gut, bones, body and your whole system. It can reach the places that words sometimes can’t quite reach.
I also believe that EMDR is an art form, there’s lots of nuance and artistry involved which makes this work interesting and fulfilling as a therapist.