Why EMDR therapy?
What is it?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is a therapeutic approach that has been extensively researched and proven effective for the treatment trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD comes from experiencing a traumatic event such as rape, shootings, robbery, car accident, natural disasters or witnessing a traumatic event. Many people experience trauma, but not PTSD and EMDR has proven helpful with that too. EMDR is unique among therapies because it incorporates elements from different treatment approaches and has helped millions of people of all ages world-wide. EMDR therapy gets to the mind/body connection and allows you to fully process what’s going on in your emotions and your body so you can feel more whole.
When people initially contact me for EMDR treatment it’s usually because they’re struggling with a trauma. It’s controlling how they live their life. It could be from childhood, also known as an adverse childhood experience (ACE) such as bullying, or living in a violent household; or your truama could be recent, but the symptoms are hard to ignore. Maybe you’re recalling the traumatic event over and over. Or maybe you’re avoiding the thoughts associated with the event and even avoiding going near anything that reminds you of it which can be isolating instead of protective. Sometimes it feels like you’re right there again, which is known as a flashback. It affects your mental, physical and spiritual well-being. You just want to feel normal again and maybe you wonder if EMDR can help resolve the problems you have.
Does EMDR therapy work for anything besides trauma?
EMDR has the ability to affect a variety of issues and concerns other than trauma and PTSD, though it started with alleviating trauma and its effects. Through the years since being discovered by Dr. Francine Shapiro, EMDR has been used to successfully relieve shame based depression, eating disorders, phobias, panic disorders, attachment issues, and can be an important part of a pain management treatment plan. It also helps you heal from distressing life events such as divorce, grief, life transitions and anxiety. If something in your life is creating difficulty or keeping you from moving forward EMDR can help you become unstuck. I use resourcing, which is reinforcing past pleasant experiences along with desensitization where we reduce the intense emotional reaction to a memory and planning future goals to help alleviate symptoms of anxiety, depression, nightmares, mood instability etc.
One of the best parts of EMDR is that it not only releases emotional pain and relieves physical pain; it can also enhance good feelings and strengthen your self-confidence. We do this resourcing by creating mental images with good associations attached to the mental image. It’s like remembering a pleasant moment in your life, or recalling a time when you were proud of yourself and we enhance those feelings. If you are interested in resourcing, and whether or not we process a difficult and emotionally charged memory we can use EMDR to help you experience a shift in your perspective and belief about your situation.
How Does EMDR work?
Your body holds your emotional experiences, both pleasant and unpleasant. Remember how you feel when you walk in a mall and smell the good food? Maybe you get a smile on your face, or recall a pleasant early childhood memory. Your body responds based on the memories of previous experiences with that scent. When you’ve had a scary or rough event your body also records that experience. Your body also responds when it’s under stress through general muscle tension, aches, headaches and even stomach or intestinal issues become a problem which is trying to let you know that you’re under stress.
EMDR is body focused. EMDR is used to focus on the sensations of tension or pain in parts of the body. This can bring up emotions and even memories that are linked to what the body is expressing. EMDR can be extremely effective in helping this painful memory become unstuck so that when fully processed you can remember the event without the distressing emotions attached to it.
Dr. Susan Dutcher, a psychologist, a trainer with the Maiberger Institute has this to say when she experienced EMDR herself:
As a client, I didn’t understand the process… I just knew that I was experiencing powerful shifts in my understanding of myself. My vivid, meaningful dreams illustrated that astounding things were happening at a level I could not fully understand and my therapist was there to guide me through the process. I was confident that I would someday utilize EMDR Therapy as part of my own work with others.
What will you gain from EMDR?
After we have fully processed the memory of the disturbing event with EMDR you will still be able to recall the event, probably with less detail and it will no longer hold an emotional charge for you. The disturbing event becomes a memory which takes its place among all your other memories. It will feel like the other memories – yes, you experienced that situation, and it no longer has a hold on you. Other clients I’ve worked with have told me they felt relieved and empowered.
It’s important to remember that while EMDR may move you through therapy more rapidly than other forms of therapy, we’re not focusing on speed. Every client has different needs and there may be multiple things you need to confront. Treatment is complete when EMDR therapy has focused on the past events/memories which will release the hold the memory had on you, address present situations that are troublesome so you can do things differently in your life now and you’ve strengthened the skills you need for the future so you can be confident in your ability to grow.
You Can Exercise Authority Over Your Life
If you would like to feel empowered and more in charge in your life, it would be my privilege to help. Please call 951-403-1495 to set up your free 15-minute consultation to see how EMDR therapy could help you.
Video is Courtesy of EMDR International Association
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