EMDR Therapy
What Is EMDR Therapy?
When a traumatic event happens, your brain becomes too overwhelmed to process the experience. This makes you feel “frozen” in time, as if the past is endlessly repeating itself. EMDR, which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a research-backed form of therapy that can change how you respond to trauma. It helps you process or “digest” painful memories so that they no longer feel present in your life.
With EMDR therapy, you may notice that emotions that previously felt intense and overwhelming have less of a hold on you. You may also notice that your relationships with others improve, as well as overall functioning in other areas of life. Your brain and body can heal after years and years of feeling disconnected and distressed, allowing you to feel lighter, freer, and more empowered.
How Effective Is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR is one of the most powerful forms of trauma treatment in the world. It’s endorsed by the American Psychological Association, World Health Organization, Department of Veterans Affairs, and many other reputable medical organizations (1). According to many studies, about 84 to 90 percent of people with one traumatic event in their past no longer have PTSD after just three sessions of EMDR. And for those with multiple traumas, about 77 percent no longer have PTSD after six sessions (2).
What makes EMDR so much more effective than other forms of trauma therapy?
For one thing, it bypasses the need to “talk through” your trauma in detail. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation techniques—such as tapping or side-to-side eye movements—to access the part of the nervous system where traumatic memories are stored. Standard talk therapy cannot access this part of the nervous system, because it only works with the conscious mind. EMDR works with your subconscious, letting you dig beneath the surface of your awareness and heal your deepest emotional wounds.
And since it doesn’t require you to talk about your trauma, EMDR also reduces the risk of being re-traumatized. After all, most forms of talk therapy just make trauma worse—by having you recount what happened, you end up feeling re-triggered and overwhelmed. EMDR doesn’t require you to share your story in detail—you can tell your therapist as much or as little as you want!
And since it doesn’t require you to talk about your trauma, EMDR also reduces the risk of being re-traumatized. After all, most forms of talk therapy just make trauma worse—by having you recount what happened, you end up feeling re-triggered and overwhelmed. EMDR doesn’t require you to share your story in detail—you can tell your therapist as much or as little as you want!
How Does EMDR Therapy Look?
The first part of EMDR treatment is the resourcing stage. During this part, you and your therapist will come up with strategies to help you stay calm and regulated as you process traumatic memories. These strategies can include meditation, deep breathing, visualization, and any other mindfulness-based skills that work for you.
Next, you’ll begin the actual EMDR work. Your therapist will help you determine which memory to target first, asking you to hold different aspects of that memory in mind. At the same time, they’ll ask you to follow their hand or light source as they move it back and forth across your field of vision. Other forms of bilateral stimulation may include sounds or tapping.
This bilateral stimulation activates both sides of the brain, allowing you to move your trauma from the emotional side to the intellectual side. In other words, EMDR reduces the emotional impact of trauma and helps you form a more rational perspective on what happened to you. In this way, it transforms the meaning of traumatic events on the deepest level possible.
How Can EMDR Benefit Your Life?
EMDR doesn’t just reduce your symptoms—it allows for substantial, lifelong healing. Rather than slap a band-aid on your pain, EMDR gets right to the core of what’s going on, addressing the longstanding emotional wounds that perpetuate your struggles. It enables you to break out of old patterns that are holding you back from living up to your fullest potential.
For instance, if your past trauma made you want to isolate and avoid social gatherings, EMDR can help you overcome the sense of fear that keeps you from leaving your comfort zone. It can empower you to feel more confident and at ease in your own skin, making it easier to seize new opportunities and connect with new people. You can stop engaging in unhealthy habits and make decisions that move you closer to happiness, peace, and stability.
Begin Your Journey Toward Healing And Wholeness
Our EMDR therapists are all EMDRIA-trained, meaning that we’ve been trained to use EMDR at the highest level. We decided to use this approach because of how effective it was in treating trauma survivors. What’s more, our therapists can also work with prescribers, doctors, family members, and anyone else you’d like to involve in your care.
If you want to heal from the pain of the past and begin your journey toward healing and wholeness, contact us or call (646) 918 – 1181. We look forward to working with you!
If you want to heal from the pain of the past and begin your journey toward healing and wholeness, contact us or call (646) 918 – 1181. We look forward to working with you!
