EMDR Therapy

EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) therapy is a type of psychotherapy that has been proven to be very effective in treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorders, anxiety, phobias, and depression.  The primary use of EMDR is for PTSD; however, it has increasingly become more popular in treatment of other mood and anxieties disorders as it has garnered great results in bringing recovery to individuals that are suffering with great amounts of distress. 

This therapy has quickly become one of my favorites as a therapist, as I have witnessed amazing results in helping my clients process current stressful events, past traumas and many incidents of that past that they felt they had dealt with at time but unbeknownst to them it had been impacting the way they lived their lives greatly.  EMDR helps clients safely reprocess the traumatic or distressing information until it is no longer disruptive to the individual’s life and no longer negatively influencing the way they live.  EMDR uses bilateral stimulation, commonly Rapid Eye Movements; however, there are other forms of stimulation such as tapping or sounds, to help the brain process the information.  The individual recalls the traumatic memories or distressing circumstances and the emotions and sensations that go along with that memory while focusing on the bilateral stimulation.  The processing with bilateral stimulation continues until the individual no longer finds the memory disturbing. 

EMDR works on targeting a person’s belief system that is connected to the traumatic or stressful events.  These beliefs are often negative beliefs that we carry with us and affect one’s life in limiting and detrimental ways. The benefit of EMDR is that it works on targeting these negative belief systems and disarming them, allowing clients to replace these with more accurate, adaptive beliefs that allow them to carry on with life in positive and healthy ways. 

EMDR has also been found to be productive when paired with other forms of psychotherapy such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).  This is often the approach that I have utilized with my clients is to combine EMDR with other forms of psychotherapy allowing for a more integrated, flexible approach to therapy.