EMDR Therapy
EMDR is an evidence-based therapeutic modality which optimizes our natural capacities to process, integrate, and heal painful past experiences that may be interfering in our lives.
The acronym EMDR stands for “eye movement desensitization and reprocessing.” It describes the main technique found in EMDR, which is the use of eye movements (and sometimes sound and/or tapping) to address painful, challenging, or traumatic memories and process them at a more rapid rate than normally happens in traditional talk therapies. EMDR can be used to treat numerous challenges, including trauma, stress, anxiety, and depression.
We often process psychological material during the REM (rapid eye movement) phases of our sleep cycle. EMDR utilizes this same premise to process difficult memories, emotions, and physical sensations during our waking life, in the context of an intentional and supportive therapeutic relationship.
Is EMDR Therapy right for me?
EMDR therapy may be a good option for you if you are feeling a sense of “stuckness” in relation to certain issues in your life, or if you have been working on specific challenges for some time, yet have not come to a sense of peace or resolution. EMDR may also be preferable for those who find it difficult to process traumatic memories by talking about them in detail. You are awake, conscious, and fully in control at all times during the process.
Many people report that EMDR has helped them to relate to difficult memories without the intense emotional or physical charge that has long been associated with them. Once a memory has been reprocessed during EMDR, it is then linked to the brain and body’s natural adaptive capacities for processing and integration, and the associated triggers and intense emotions are usually no longer experienced.
In deciding when to begin the process of EMDR therapy, a few factors may come into play. The reprocessing experience can be highly emotional, and processing can continue between sessions. While your therapist will put supports in place to address this, it is also important to have personal supports available. If you are in the midst of a big life transition, are feeling suicidal, or have an important event or court date ahead of you, you may wish to consider the timing of EMDR therapy.
How long does the process take?
The beginning stages of EMDR are designed to cultivate a sense of comfort and safety as you and your therapist move forward together in processing difficult memories. The number of EMDR sessions required to reprocess specific experiences varies widely, depending on the depth of trauma associated with these experiences. While some difficulties can be reprocessed in 3-4 sessions, deeper challenges and more numerous and complex traumas may take longer
Introduction to EMDR Video:
Therapists who offer EMDR Therapy:
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