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About Our Specialized Services

EMDR:
• What is EMDR?    |top|

  Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a complex technique of individual psychotherapy in which the therapist guides you through a simple, painless procedure to integrate and resolve troubling experiences and emotions.

  In addition to post-traumatic reactions, EMDR has been used to treat troubling symptoms such as anxiety, depression, guilt and anger. It can also be used to build up your emotional resources such as confidence and self-esteem.

• How does EMDR work?    |top|

  While science has not established exactly how EMDR achieves its remarkable results, it appears that EMDR taps into your own natural mental health healing system.

  Your body knows how to heal itself. When you get a cut, you bleed to cleanse the wound. Your body creates a scab to protect the wound while the new skin generates underneath. We believe that your mind also knows how to heal itself from trauma. Some researchers believe that this happens during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.

  Your body can be wounded so severely that your body cannot conduct its normal healing process. Some examples might be a cut that requires stitches or an infection that overwhelms your immune system. In those instances you require stitches or an anti-biotic. Similarly, EMDR seems to act like a boost to your normal mental health system thereby accelerating your healing from trauma.

• What happens in an EMDR session?    |top|

  EMDR is different for everyone, because the healing process is guided from within. In one central EMDR process, you focus on a picture, a negative thought and a body sensation associated with a disturbing event. The therapist then helps you focus on a bilateral stimulus while you think about the memory. The stimulus may consist of rapid hand movements or moving lights in your field of vision; alternating tones to the ears; or alternating taps on the hands.

  Sometimes past issues or memories come up that are related to the disturbing memory. These may also be treated with EMDR, perhaps in the same session. Sometimes a painful memory brings up unpleasant emotions or body sensations. This is normal and generally passes within a few minutes, as long as the EMDR is not stopped. The upsetting emotion or memory often seems to fade into the past and lose its power.

• Why bring up a painful memory?    |top|

  When painful memories are avoided, they keep their disturbing influence. However, painful memories can come into your awareness as a flashback or nightmare and can feel as upsetting and overwhelming as the original experience. In therapy, and with EMDR, you can face the memory in a safe setting, so that you do not feel overwhelmed, but can get through it and move on.

• Will I be in a trance during an EMDR session?    |top|

  You will not be in a trance state. You are always in charge of whether to continue or stop the process and you can also decide how much to tell the therapist about the experience. The therapist serves as a guide to help you stay on track and get the most out of the session. The therapist supports and encourages you in continuing through difficult parts.

• Are there any precautions around using EMDR?    |top|

  Yes. There are specific procedures to be followed depending on the memory you want to resolve, your emotional stability, your medical condition, and other factors. You may experience reactions such as these:

  • Distressing, unresolved memories might surface through the use of the EMDR procedure.
  • Unexpected reactions may occur during the treatment sessions, including a high level of emotion or physical sensations.
  • After the treatment session, the processing of incidents or material may continue, and other dreams, memories, flashbacks, feelings, etc., may surface.
  • Memories of past events targeted for EMDR treatment may be altered (memories may become more or less clear, while the corresponding emotions may be greatly decreased).

  It is very important that your therapist be formally trained in EMDR. Otherwise, there is a risk that EMDR could be incomplete, ineffective, or even harmful. All of the therapists at The Counseling Center are certified in EMDR.

• What happens after an EMDR session?    |top|

  You may continue to process the material for days or even weeks after a session, perhaps having new insights, vivid dreams, strong feelings, or renewed recall of past experiences. This may feel confusing, but it is just a continuation of the healing process, and should simply be reported to the therapist at the next session (however, if you become concerned or depressed, you should call the therapist right away). As the distressing symptoms fade, you can work with the therapist on developing new skills and ways of coping.

• How many EMDR sessions will I need?    |top|

  The number of sessions you will need depends on your response to the disturbing event(s) you experienced. At times, significant traumas may resolve in as few as three sessions, even after months or years of failed therapy. In other situations, seemingly small traumas may take many sessions to completely resolve.

• What if I don’t have any significant trauma?    |top|

  One of the major contributions of EMDR is that mental health professional now recognize the importance of small traumas such as being teased as a child. The impact of the trauma is based on the child who felt the trauma, not the adult who looks back on the memory. Many clients have made significant changes in their current life by resolving these smaller traumas. Your therapist will clarify whether EMDR may be helpful to you.

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