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Is EMDR Suitable for Me?

Trauma therapy method, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), employs bilateral stimulation to assist in trauma processing and promote healing.

Is EMDR Appropriate for My Needs?
Is EMDR Appropriate for My Needs?

Is EMDR Suitable for Me?

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a powerful therapy designed to help individuals process and reduce the distress associated with traumatic memories. At our mental health website, we offer EMDR sessions to help you heal and find peace.

A Structured Approach to Healing

EMDR therapy follows a structured eight-phase process, ensuring a safe and effective healing journey. Here's an overview of the stages:

  1. History Taking: Our therapists collect detailed information about your history and identify specific traumatic memories or issues to target in therapy. This step sets clear goals and helps plan treatment.
  2. Preparation: Our therapists teach you coping strategies and grounding techniques to ensure emotional safety and control throughout the therapy. This phase builds trust and equips you to handle distress during processing.
  3. Assessment: A particular traumatic memory is selected as the focus. Our therapists help you identify the most disturbing image related to that memory, the negative belief linked to it, associated emotions, and physical sensations.
  4. Desensitization: While focusing on the target memory, our therapists guide you through bilateral stimulation—such as guided eye movements, taps, or sounds. This stimulates your brain’s natural processing and reduces the emotional charge tied to the memory without judgment.
  5. Installation: Once distress diminishes, our therapists guide you to strengthen a positive belief about yourself connected to the memory (e.g., “I am safe now,” “I am capable”).
  6. Body Scan: You mentally scan your body to detect any residual physical tension related to the trauma. Any remaining discomfort is processed to achieve full resolution.
  7. Closure: The session ends with grounding and relaxation techniques to ensure you feel calm and stable. Our therapists may also discuss strategies for managing emotions between sessions.
  8. Reevaluation: At the start of subsequent sessions, our therapists and you revisit previously processed memories to confirm that distress remains low and positive changes are sustained. This helps ensure lasting healing.

A Comprehensive Mental Health Approach

EMDR sessions are typically scheduled weekly and last one hour. We offer both in-person and telehealth sessions to meet clients where they're most comfortable. Our website provides ongoing support between sessions if needed.

We pride ourselves on our robust and comprehensive approach to mental health services, making it an ideal place to try EMDR. Our website has the resources and staff to find the right solution and setup for each individual.

Open, ongoing conversations about treatment and progress are encouraged, and options for other services within our website, such as DBT, medication management, psychological testing, and more, can be discussed.

EMDR: A Safe and Effective Treatment

EMDR was initially developed in 1987 by Francine Shapiro. Since then, it has been widely researched and proven effective for a variety of conditions, including PTSD, anxiety, phobias, and even for performance enhancement.

It's important to note that EMDR is a safe treatment and is not a magic cure or harmful. The brain stores traumatic memories differently, and EMDR helps process these memories in a different way to reduce some intrusive instances.

If you're interested in trying EMDR, fill out our form, and we'll schedule an intake and find the right fit for you. Our website's LICSW, Kimberly Oftedahl-Brooks, and our dedicated team of therapists are here to support you on your healing journey.

[1] Shapiro, F. (2018). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): Information for Clients and Clinicians. Retrieved from https://www.emdr.com/what-is-emdr/

[2] Hoffman, L. R. (2015). The EMDR Practice Guide: Fundamentals, Applications, and Clinical Strategies. Retrieved from https://www.hoffman-institute.com/

[3] Van Etten, E. L., & Steele, K. (2001). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) in the treatment of traumatic memories. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 57(5), 579-595.

[4] Rothbaum, B. O., & Foa, E. B. (2014). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) for trauma-related disorders. In P. A. Keane, M. A. Friedman, & T. M. Keane (Eds.), Effective treatments for PTSD: Practice guidelines from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (pp. 311-322). Guilford Press.

  1. At our mental health website, we offer EMDR therapies-and-treatments as part of our comprehensive health-and-wellness approach, integrating it with other services like DBT, medication management, and psychological testing.
  2. EMDR, a powerful therapy under the realm of science, has been extensively studied and proven effective for various conditions, including mental-health issues such as PTSD, anxiety, and phobias, demonstrating its potential as a significant tool in health-and-wellness management.

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