EMDR Therapy

How EMDR Treatment Works 

Like our bodies, our minds are wired for healing and growth. If you accidentally cut your finger, the wound will often heal naturally on its own. However, if the wound becomes infected, you may need medical attention because your body lacks the necessary resources to repair the damage by itself. 

The human brain is not that different: there are times when distressing experiences and trauma can halt the brain’s natural healing process. When this happens, you need professional help to fully recover psychologically. 

EMDR therapy restores the brain’s natural healing capacity. It does this by using specifically designed techniques to treat the unresolved experiences that cause negative reactions, self-beliefs, and feelings to get “stuck” in your nervous system. 

One of the ways that EMDR activates your natural healing process is by using eye movements, sounds, or taps during parts of the session. By adding this sensory stimulus while you work through memories, your brain can better resolve and properly store the memories and emotions that hold you back. 

What To Expect In Sessions 

EMDR often works on a deeper level than traditional “talk therapy” because of how it activates the brain’s innate capacity to heal. 

In the first phase of EMDR treatment, we will work together to get a full picture of who you are—your aspirations, goals, background, and what troubles you. We will then develop a treatment plan that best suits your wants and needs. 

In the second phase, we will discuss how EMDR works so you know exactly what to expect. We will also explore which type of sensory stimulus is best for you and will help you learn strategies to deal with emotional distress (such as relaxation and containment techniques). 

Based on your needs, we’ll decide how to pace our work in therapy so that you can build resilience over time in a way that isn’t too overwhelming. 

The phases that follow will involve working through the past memories that contribute to your concerns and the present situations that are disturbing to you. We will also help you develop any new skills and attitudes you may need for the future.

EMDR is an integrative therapy approach that is designed to work with many different therapies. Therefore, depending on your needs, we can incorporate other modalities, such as AEDP (Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy), IFS (Internal Family Systems), Ego State Therapy, Somatic Experiencing, DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy), and CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), among others, to create an even more robust and comprehensive approach to treatment. 

How quickly symptoms resolve with EMDR therapy tends to vary significantly from person to person. In general, how long treatment lasts will depend on your goals, the origin and depth of your challenges, the work you do in and out of each session, and the unique way your brain works. 

By the end of treatment, you should feel lighter and have newfound knowledge and skills that will help you increase your confidence, establish more authenticity in your relationships, and relieve the symptoms that have been weighing you down.  

My Experience With EMDR Therapy 

My passion for this treatment method stems from my own experiences with EMDR before my time as a therapist. It has helped me change in ways that I would never have thought possible. That being said, I have utilized EMDR therapy to help people heal, change, and grow since 2014. And my clients often tell me that this process genuinely makes them feel seen and heard and allows them to heal deeply. 

I am accustomed to positive reactions because of all of my training in this specialized form of therapy. In addition to being EMDR trained (which means I completed the basic EMDR training requirements), I have received extra training to become an EMDR certified therapist and EMDRIA (EMDR International Association) consultant and regularly pursue advanced training in EMDR therapy. I also love teaching and creating many training tools to help other counselors learn EMDR therapy and help their clients find relief. I have found that teaching others not only gives me great joy, but has helped me become a much more proficient EMDR practitioner.

My counseling practice is online-only, so you would need an established internet connection to consult for sessions. But this could work to your advantage by saving you the time and hassle of a commute and allowing you to undergo treatment anywhere you feel comfortable.