EMDR Therapy

What is EMDR?

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Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy is a structured model of psychotherapy aimed at helping people recover from adverse life experiences.  As an evidence-based method, it has been heavily researched and proven effective. It is widely recognized as effective and endorsed by organizations such as the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the US Department of Veteran Affairs, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and the Substance Use and Mental Health Services Administration. 

 

EMDR can help with: 

• Anxiety, panic, phobias, excessive worry

• Chronic illness and medical problems, chronic pain

• Mood disorders including depression and bipolar disorder

• Healing after a loss

• PTSD/CPTSD

• Sleep

• Recovering from a traumatic experience

• Substance abuse and addiction​

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How is EMDR different from talk therapy? 

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EMDR follows a structured 8-phase protocol designed to jump start the brain’s natural ability to heal after adversity.  Unlike talk therapies, EMDR does not require detailed discussion of painful life experiences or construction of detailed narratives.  Instead, client’s are invited to recall particular life experiences from the past that may be negatively impacting present functioning and future experiences.  While noticing these memories, clients experience alternating eye movements, sounds, or taps.  This bilateral stimulation taxes the working memory, supports dual attention, and encourages the brain to re-metabolize memories.  In doing so, client’s experience emotional relief, decreased physical symptoms of distress, and healthier thinking, clearing the way for more functional and wholehearted living. 

 

Many client’s find they experience relief and achieve desired outcomes in fewer sessions with EMDR than with other types of psychotherapy.   

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