EMDR

What to expect with EMDR

Assessment and Preparation: EMDR therapy takes place in a supportive environment where you can feel comfortable sharing your experiences. Together we will assess what areas to target with EMDR and create a comprehensive treatment and preparation plan.

Bilateral Stimulation: You will be guided through eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation (like tapping or auditory tones) while focusing on traumatic memories or distressing stimuli.

Emotional Processing: It’s normal to experience a range of emotions as you process memories. Your therapist will support you through this process and provide techniques to manage distress.

Gradual Progress: Healing is a gradual process. EMDR helps reframe and integrate traumatic memories, often leading to significant improvement in emotional well-being over time.

How it works

The core principle of EMDR involves the use of bilateral stimulation, typically through guided eye movements, to facilitate the brain's natural processing mechanisms. During an EMDR session, the therapist helps the client recall distressing memories while simultaneously engaging in these eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation, such as taps or sounds. This dual tasking helps to desensitize the emotional charge and triggered responses associated with the traumatic memories and allows the client to reprocess these experiences more adaptively. As a result, the client can experience a rapid reduction in the intensity of their emotional reactions and gain new insights and coping mechanisms.

Benefits of EMDR

EMDR provides the opportunity to reduce triggered responses surrounding trauma. This modality can create rapid reduction in symptoms of trauma and distress creating improved emotional and psychological resilience. and Increased ability to process and integrate traumatic experiences.