EMDR Therapy

Do you feel held back by your trauma? Perhaps you have trouble with daily tasks as invasive, disturbing memories pop into your mind without warning. Or maybe you find that one painful event takes up your emotional bandwidth, preventing personal growth. You’ve tried talk therapy, but rehashing these devastating moments just ends up making you feel worse. Don’t give up hope – there is a way to heal.

What is EMDR?

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy is a powerful effective therapeutic approach that is proven for the treatment of trauma. Before EMDR, therapists relied on prolonged and often painful talk therapy approaches that could be re-traumatizing for clients, despite the efforts of therapists to prevent this. EMDR is meant to lessen the painful physical and emotional reaction you have to deeply traumatic memories by creating a safe, structured method to work through traumatic experiences, heal, and move beyond the effects of trauma on the mind and body.

Clients will focus on a particular disturbing memory while engaging in bilateral stimulation (BLS), like eye movements or hand movements. This process activates the information processing system in the brain to tap into the working memory, creating new neural pathways for experiencing the trauma. After a series of these sessions, symptoms that the client experiences while speaking about the traumatic event will significantly reduce.

Studies show that EMDR may relieve symptoms quicker than trauma-focused CBT and may relieve physical pain, muscle tension, and other somatic or bodily symptoms. Current research shows that when administered by a trained professional, EMDR is safe, with no adverse side effects. 

While EMDR can be done in person, it can also be conducted online over a video call.

What does EMDR help with?

EMDR originally started as a model helpful to those who struggle with PTSD symptoms. However, since emerging EMDR has been proven to help the following:

  • Post-traumatic stress disorder, Complex PTSD

  • Anxiety, panic attacks, and phobias

  • Chronic Illness and medical issues

  • Depression and bipolar disorders

  • Dissociative disorders

  • Grief and loss

  • Violence and abuse

    Ready to see if EMDR is right for you?

 

TRIGGER WARNING : Image of someone pointing a gun at 0:43 seconds and lasts until 0:45.