Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

What is EMDR?

EMDR is a form of psychotherapy that allows people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress resulting from disturbing life experiences.

Repeated studies have shown that by using EMDR, people often experience benefits from psychotherapy that once took years to achieve within a limited number of sessions.

The developers of EMDR suggest that the mind can heal from psychological trauma much as the body recovers from physical trauma.

The amazing brain…

The brain’s information processing system naturally moves toward mental health. If the system is blocked or imbalanced by the impact of a disturbing event, the emotional wound festers and can cause intense suffering. Once the block is removed, healing resumes.

Through EMDR, clinicians help clients activate their natural healing processes. After successful treatment with EMDR, emotional distress is reduced, negative beliefs are re-formulated, and physiological arousal is reduced.

Is there a ‘typical’ EMDR session?

In a typical EMDR session, you focus on a troubling memory and the negative belief about yourself connected to the memory. You then choose a positive, more adaptive belief that you would like to believe about yourself.

The therapist then directs you in one type of bilateral sensory input, such as side-to-side eye movements or hand tapping.

Through the EMDR process, the negative images and beliefs fade while the positive belief is enhanced. Emotional arousal is reduced as you develop skills and attitudes needed for positive future actions.

EMDR transforms the past…

In contrast to traditional psychotherapy, the gains in EMDR result not so much from clinician interpretation, but from the client’s own accelerated intellectual and emotional processes.

The net effect is that clients conclude EMDR therapy feeling empowered by the very experience that once debased them. Their wounds have not just closed, they have transformed.

For example, a rape victim may shift from feeling horror and self-disgust to holding the firm belief that, “I survived and I am strong.”

Not just for PTSD…

Although much of the research and publicity about EMDR has focused on its effectiveness in treating PTSD and other serious trauma, EMDR is equally effective in treating “everyday” memories that are common in us all that contribute to low self-esteem, feelings of powerlessness, and many problems that bring individuals to enter in psychotherapy.

In contrast to traditional psychotherapy, the gains in EMDR result not so much from clinician interpretation, but from the client’s own accelerated intellectual and emotional processes.

Healing and freedom from the past are possible.

Don’t wait. Please call me at (214) 927-8456 to schedule a free 20-minute phone consultation to determine whether EMDR is a fit for you.