EMDR Therapy
EMDR is a quick and effective form of therapy that helps you resolve past traumas and reclaim your sense of self-worth. It taps into the parts of the brain where negative beliefs and unresolved emotions are stored and helps you process and release them. As a result, you can recall your traumatic experience without feeling distressed or overwhelmed. You can improve your self-esteem and feel more confident in day-to-day life.
What is EMDR?
The great thing about EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is that it goes deeper than talk therapy ever could. Talk therapy can help you process your trauma on an intellectual level, but it can’t help you heal the deeper emotional pain. It can help you change the way you think about trauma, but it can do very little to change how you feel. What’s more, talking about trauma often makes your symptoms worse, since it forces you to recount your traumatic experience and dwell on your pain.
With EMDR, you can share as much or as little as you want about your trauma. The approach involves a series of stimulation exercises that allow you to process your trauma without having to “relive” it.
How Effective Is EMDR and Who Can It Help?
EMDR is useful for treating trauma, depression, anxiety, and many other mental health conditions. It is evidence-based, extensively researched, and practiced all over the globe. The World Health Organization, American Psychiatric Association Practice, and numerous other organizations consider EMDR one of the top forms of trauma and PTSD therapy. Many studies have shown that EMDR is more effective at treating trauma than Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
At Sound Health and Wellness we use EMDR with people of all ages to help them resolve their upsetting feelings and experiences. Oftentimes, they don’t even know that trauma’s at the root of their struggles. Many of of our clients wrestle with self-doubt and not liking themselves without knowing why. If they suspect they have trauma, they often downplay what happened to them because they don’t have full-blown PTSD.
Contrary to popular belief, though, you don’t need to experience PTSD to suffer from trauma. There are many forms of trauma—such as bullying, neglect, grief and loss, or going through a bad breakup—that are subtler in their effects. EMDR can help you work through any kind of trauma, big or small, and empower you to feel more confident in the process.
“Since I've been working with Leslie, I feel so much lighter and my trauma reactions are going away. But everything else in my life is feeling so much better also. I can let things go!”
— MIRANDA, CONNECTICUT
How Does EMDR Therapy Work?
The first part of EMDR treatment is about getting to know you and preparing you for treatment. You and your therapist will go over your current symptoms, trauma history, and your goal for treatment. Maybe your goal is to feel safe, worthy, lovable, whole, capable, or more confident—you get to choose. Additionally, we’ll come up with grounding skills to use if you ever feel distressed or overwhelmed. These can include meditation, deep breathing, visualization, or anything else that helps you stay calm.
From there, we will begin EMDR treatment. At the same time that you recall an upsetting memory, you will perform a series of bilateral stimulation techniques (such as tapping both sides of your body or following a light bar with your eyes). These exercises allow you to form healthier associations with painful memories. Doing them repeatedly can help you remember your traumatic experience without feeling as overwhelmed.
In other words, EMDR takes the emotional charge out of trauma. Talk therapy primarily activates the logical side of your brain instead of the emotional one—EMDR activates both sides. It enables you to move traumatic memories from the emotional side to the logical side, reducing your distress. This way, your experience can feel like a distant memory instead of a current part of your life, making it easier to feel safe, grounded, and at ease in your own skin.
EMDR Can Benefit Every Area Of Your Life
We have seen amazing changes in the lives of our clients after they completed EMDR. We want you to experience the same thing. EMDR therapy can help you achieve a totally new way of seeing yourself and the world around you. It can help you increase your self-worth, let go of negative behaviors, and become more aware of your needs and emotions.
These changes can benefit every area of your life. You can experience more confidence at work, better connections with others, and greater overall satisfaction.