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EMDR Therapy Can Help You Resolve The Pain Of The Past

Is there a distressing or disturbing event in your past that casts a shadow over your life? Do you struggle with intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, or night terrors? Has abuse from past relationships caused you to distrust others or yourself and left a mark on your self-esteem?


The unhealed wounds and unprocessed memories in your life may affect your happiness, relationships, and career. You know the life you want to lead—one filled with healthy relationships, rewarding work, and fulfilling activities. But each time you move closer to the life you envision, you are derailed. The past rears its ugly head and you feel too stuck or too hesitant to move forward.


If this kind of life sounds familiar to you, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) can help you explore your past and move toward a better future. If you struggle with any of the following, I’m confident EMDR Therapy is right for you:

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  • You have distressing emotions that appear to you or to others as excessive given the current situation.

  • You tend to be highly reactive to certain triggers or in certain situations.

  • You have negative beliefs about yourself that you may or may not know are not true on an intellectual level, but feel true on an emotional level.

What Is EMDR Therapy?

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Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an integrative psychotherapy approach that uses a set of standardized protocols aimed at creating internal safety in the mind and body while also healing past traumas. In my approach, it pairs well with somatic approaches like Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SP) and Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy.


EMDR Therapy has been extensively researched and proven effective for the treatment of trauma and PTSD. Just how powerful is EMDR therapy? In many studies, roughly 90% of participants with PTSD symptoms reported no more symptoms after just three sessions. Other studies have consistently shown that EMDR treatment is more effective for dealing with trauma than Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.  
 

 

How does EMDR Therapy Work?

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EMDR is unique because, unlike ordinary talk therapy, it does not require that you discuss your trauma in detail. You can share as much or as little as you’d like. The approach uses a technique called bilateral stimulation to repeatedly activate opposite sides of the brain. The goal of this technique is to move traumatic memories from the emotional side of your brain to the intellectual side. This allows you to recall traumatic memories without feeling re-traumatized, and to form more adaptive ways of thinking about yourself and the traumatic event. Activating both sides of the brain during trauma processing helps to integrate healing more fully than merely talking about trauma would.


To facilitate bilateral stimulation, EMDR uses rapid, back-and-forth eye movements or alternating left-right tapping with hands or feet. These eye movements patterns, in particular, mimic the period of sleep referred to as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. REM sleep is the time when the mind processes events in your past. In the same way, EMDR helps you process memories on a subconscious level, storing them in their rightful place without requiring you to exert extreme amounts of effort.


In short, EMDR helps the brain reprocess trapped memories so that normal, healthy information processing is resumed. As a result, it can help you uncover and process negative self-beliefs that developed as a result of traumatic events. It can help you enhance your self-awareness, improve your self-esteem, and reduce your emotional distress. For a more detailed explanation you can visit EMDR Institute, Inc.
 

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​Can EMDR Help With Other Mental Health Issues, Too?

In addition to treating trauma and PTSD, EMDR can be beneficial in the treatment of:

  • Panic Attacks

  • Complicated Grief

  • Dissociative Disorders

  • Nightmares

  • Disturbing Memories

  • Phobias

  • Pain Disorders

  • Performance Anxiety

  • Addictions

  • Stress Reduction

  • Sexual and/or Physical Abuse

  • Body Dysmorphic Disorders

  • Personality Disorders

You Don’t Have To Live In The Shadow Of The Past Any Longer
 

​If you want to put the pain of the past behind you and reclaim your sense of power and safety, I would be honored to help you. You can contact me today for a free phone consultation to see if EMDR Therapy is the right approach. I look forward to hearing from you!

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