EMDR

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a form of therapy that can assist healing from traumatic incidents such as accidents, abuse, medical trauma and other events that cause anxiety, grief, intrusive thoughts, stress, PTSD, and basic life disturbance.  While EMDR can’t take away a traumatic experience or erase it from your memory, it can remove the emotional charge and thus the distressing emotional symptoms and behaviors that have been causing the disturbances.  It is about integrating the two sides of your brain while convincing the mind and body that the traumatic event is, indeed, over. You can move on to an improved quality of life without the disruptions.

Thanks to your EMDR, I’ve been able to spend time with my mom without popping an Ativan!  –Marie R.

EMDR can be life-changing.  It is supported by rigorous research and uses a neuro-scientific approach to rewire your brain, freeing you from thoughts or memories that can no longer control your life.  My job is to be sure you understand how it works, develop imagery exercises with your input that you may use anytime to self-calm, gain control and create safety as you move through this process. I will be with you every step of the way.

Briefly, How Is EMDR Done?

EMDR is done in 4 Steps:

1) developing/using images to give you the skills to calm yourself, breathe, and feel safe,

2)  focusing on the disturbing thought/incident that upsets you while using the above skills,

3) holding “tappers” in your hands that alternately vibrate between left and right (this simply feels like buzzing) which stimulate your brain and interrupt your hippocampus (a part of the brain) that specializes in alarming you about danger.  You are monitored as the intensity of your thoughts and feelings decrease and lose the power to upset you.  Finally,

4) you create a more positive statement that replaces the upsetting thoughts as you reframe the experience.

When EMDR was created by psychologist Dr. Francine Shapiro PhD, she had clients follow her hand with their eyes as she moved it side to side and up and down, thus the name Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing.  Today most use the tappers described above, lights that will move your eyes from side to side, or music that stimulates the brain from one side to the other.  It does rewire the brain!

I was trained in EMDR by Linda Curran PhD, one of the world’s foremost experts and trainers in trauma interventions including EMDR.  We can discuss more about how EMDR works in our free phone consultation.  Click here to schedule your call.