EMDR Therapy: Our Unique Methods for Trauma Therapy
By: Kelsey Madas
If you experience flashbacks or intrusive memories of the traumatic events of your past, you know just how distressing the experience can be. In those moments, you feel transported back in time against your will to some of the worst moments of your life, and your body feels like it’s reliving the event all over again. Those intense emotional experiences may make you feel trapped, and not knowing what might trigger the next one can make you feel powerless.
The good news is that there’s a wealth of research on effective treatments for people with Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety and for those who’ve experienced or witnessed traumatic events.
One type of therapy you may not have heard of is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy or EMDR therapy for short.
WHAT IS EMDR THERAPY, EXACTLY?
To administer the therapy, an EMDR therapist will guide you through a series of bilateral movements, using sounds or even tapping as you recall a traumatic memory.
If this sounds scary to you, it may help to know that during the reprocessing, there’s not much talking on your end. There will be an intake session before the EMDR therapy begins to gather background information about your experiences and mental health history, and there will be resourcing sessions prior to reprocessing that will help you gather tools for emotional regulation.
Still not sure about it? EMDR therapy is endorsed under the Veterans Administration and the US Department of Defense practice guidelines for the management of PTSD. Many veterans – and nonveterans - experience significant alleviation from their symptoms after completing EMDR therapy. We also recommend that you read our explanation of the process here to learn more.
HOW DOES EMDR THERAPY WORK?
Check out this video from the Veterans Health Administration for a helpful visual explanation of the process.
Here at the Integrate Therapy + Wellness Collective offices in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, we utilize this type of therapy with our clients to help alleviate those distressing and overwhelming experiences.
“In my experience as a therapist who administers EMDR therapy, I’ve seen firsthand how this technique can significantly reduce the intensity that comes along with recalling troubling memories,” explains Ambur Gregorio, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, founder and owner of Integrate Therapy located in Bird-In-Hand, PA.
“In essence, it helps your mind to sort these memories and put them in the right place: the past. Whereas before the memories might put your body into a state of flight-or-fight, triggering your nervous system to rush your body with a stress hormone that causes very real physical and emotional sensations that make it feel like the traumatic event is happening right now, EMDR therapy can help your brain heal and understand that in the present, you are safe from the past. You could say it “refiles” the memory to the appropriate place.
WHO IS EMDR THERAPY FOR?
We use EMDR therapy for adults and teenagers. As we mentioned before, it can be used for those with depression, anxiety, C-PTSD, and many other disorders.
HOW DO I BOOK AN EMDR THERAPY SESSION?
If you’re interested in learning more about EMDR therapy to see if it’s right for you, schedule a free consultation with one of our EMDR trained therapists today by clicking here.
References
de Jongh, A., de Roos, C., & El-Leithy, S. (2024). State of the science: Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing
(EMDR) therapy. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 37, 205–216. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.23012
https://youtu.be/tLr
https://www.youtube.com/watch?embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fmail.google.com%2F&embeds_referring_origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmail.google.com&source_ve_path=MzY4NDIsMjg2NjQsMTY0NTAz&feature=emb_share&v=tLrmZXheY5c
