Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Is it ever going to get better?

Have you been in therapy for years, repeatedly talking about the same things but still having the same reactions, intense emotions, and negative thoughts?

You still feel like you can’t trust people.

The shame still feels overwhelming.

And that critical, loathing internal voice will not shut up.

Or perhaps you haven’t tried therapy yet…

But the idea of talking about these things that happened in your past feels like pure torture. Why dig this stuff up when even small reminders send you into an anxiety spiral? It feels better just to keep pushing it down (though part of you knows this isn’t working).

Also, you worry that therapy won’t help, and the thought of that feels even worse – you can’t deal with any more disappointment or shame.

The issues are in our tissues…

Traditional talk therapy isn’t for everyone, and it’s not always the best approach for all issues, especially for trauma.

Our body holds the pain of our past.

To resolve trauma and its symptoms, we need to access the implicit memory (unconscious and automatic) and then allow the energy from these memories to move through the nervous system and discharge. These unconscious processes are not stored in the cognitive part of your brain and therefore cannot be resolved through conversation alone.

Until the trauma is fully cleared from your body, it will continue to surface and negatively impact your life.

EMDR treats both the body and the mind.

The latest research in psychology and neuroscience shows that effective trauma treatment must incorporate both the body and the mind. EMDR is a powerful, effective, and fast-acting tool for doing this.

EMDR uses back and forth eye movements (called bilateral stimulation) to help your brain and body process memories differently to eliminate an emotional charge.

While EMDR was originally developed for trauma, research has shown that it is an effective tool for many issues, including anxiety, depression, OCD, and chronic pain.

Getting to the root of the issue…

Research has backed the effectiveness of EMDR over and over – so how does it work?

At first, it looks a bit like “regular” therapy. We have some conversations, help you learn some skills in emotional regulation if necessary, and understand how these issues have and still do affect you. Once we have our “targets,” it looks a little different.

I ask you to bring up certain images of the upsetting experience, related body sensations, emotions, and negative thinking patterns we have identified. Holding these present in your body and mind, you begin to do ‘dual attention tasks’ or ‘bilateral stimulation,’ which can look like back and forth eye movements, tapping your body back and forth, or holding “tappers” in your hand that vibrates.

I will then ask you what came up for you, and several things may come up: specific body sensations, emotions, other parts of the memory, different memories, etc. We won’t do a lot of talking during this time but instead focus specifically on what came up in that moment. We then repeat the process over and over.

Focusing on aspects of the upsetting or traumatic event while also engaging in ‘bilateral stimulation’ and ‘dual attention’ create mechanisms that allow these disruptive memories to process to echo your brain and body’s natural adaptive mechanisms. The goal is to bring the emotional charge of the memory down and create more positive, adaptive ways of thinking.

While EMDR does not erase the painful things that happened, it can help transform your relationship with them, freeing you from their grip.

Clients often find their symptoms and behaviors naturally shift after resolving the root of these issues.

You don’t have to be a prisoner of the past.

I know that the idea of bringing up a bunch of hard stuff from your past does not sound fun. You have actually tried to avoid these things at all costs, but we know that has not been working.

I can offer you proven techniques that allow you to work through these issues in a safe space so that you no longer need to run from them.

Everyone deserves to heal. It is your turn.

Contact me today to set up a free 15-minute consult to see if EMDR might be right for you: agarrattcounseling@gmail.com.