What is EMDR?

About Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR):

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a therapy protocol that helps people heal from symptoms of emotional distress and trauma that result from life experiences.  Studies have shown that using EMDR can drastically shorten the length of time that it takes to alleviate symptoms of emotional distress and trauma. Emotionally-charged experiences often interfere with our ability to react and respond the way that we want to.

EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (usually eye movements) to process painful memories and work on changing their interference so that you can let go of those experiences. It is not necessary to talk in great detail about your feelings or what you experienced in order to process them and break free of their emotional hold.  ---this makes it a terrific addition to counseling as we can move through the stuck points faster than with traditional talk therapy!

EMDR therapy is a time-limited treatment that is used to address presenting issues. EMDR will focus on helping you process the disturbing/traumatic memories that are creating issues for you today. Unlike traditional talk therapies, we will not spend a lot of time discussing current problems. Once you begin EMDR therapy, you will learn to track your present-day reactions and responses in order to look for indications of triggers that we need to work in with EMDR. Our goal is to identify the problematic memories, thoughts and feelings and process them so that you can move on with your life in a healthy manner.

I am an EMDRIA Certified EMDR Therapist, which means I have done:

  • Foundational EMDR Training

  • A Supervised Practicum

  • A year of Consultation

In addition to the work required to be certified, I have taken additional training in the following:

  • Healing Spiritual Abuse with EMDR Therapy

  • EMDR for Borderline Personality Disorder 

  • DeTUR: Addiction and Urge Reduction Protocol

  • EMDR for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

  • EMDR with Couples and Families

  • EMDR Intensives

  • FLASH Technique for Intense, Traumatic and Disturbing Memories

  • Four Blinks Flash Technique

  • DeprEnd Protocol for treatment of Depression

FAQ’s

  • EMDR can help people with a wide range of mental health conditions. Children, Adolescents, Teenagers and Adults of all ages can benefit from this treatment.

  • First, let’s look at how some parts of the brain work:

    The Limbic System includes parts of the brain that control things like memory, emotions and automatic reactions and responses –including the flight-flight-freeze responses.

    The Frontal Lobe areas control things like intentional thinking, planning, organizing, problem-solving, regulating emotions and impulses.

    Our limbic system can ‘store’ memories in a way that allows it to know how react if it encounters the same situation again. Sometimes memories of distressing events can get stored in a way that causes the limbic brain to react with a flight-flight-freeze response without allowing the frontal lobe enough time to think things through.

    When that happens, the limbic system can take over and cause the frontal lobe to have a difficult time in controlling and regulating emotions and impulses. We are then left reacting and responding in ways that may not be logical and we have a difficult time controlling it.

    EMDR relies on the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, a theory about how your brain stores memories. This theory, developed by Francine Shapiro, PhD, recognizes that your brain stores normal and traumatic or distressing events differently.

    AIP explains that, during normal events, your brain stores memories in a smooth manner and connects them on a network to other things that you remember. During upsetting events, particularly if the fight-flight-freeze response was triggered, the memories may not be stored in a helpful way.

    Often, your brain stores those memories in a way that doesn’t allow for them to be moved into long-term memory so that they can be recalled without all the feelings and emotions. Because they didn’t store properly, your brain didn’t receive the message that the danger or distress is over.

    Newer experiences can link up to earlier upsetting or distressing experiences and reinforce the negative experience. Then your mind has a higher level of sensitivity to things you saw, heard, smelled or felt during the related events.

    When something reminds your limbic brain of one of those distressing memories (which can happen without you even being aware!), it causes the brain to react and respond in a way that you may not want it to. You may experience some form of flight-flight-freeze or you may find yourself reverting back to behaviors that you showed during those past events.

    If you find yourself thinking, “Why did I say that? Why did I act that way? Why can’t I just keep my cool? Why do I get so angry?” then you might be having limbic brain responses.

    EMDR Processing: when you do EMDR therapy, you will access memories of distressing events in a very controlled manner and those memories will be reprocessed which allows the limbic part of the brain to store them in a different, more adaptive way. This will help the limbic brain be less reactive to triggers.

  • The most common are:

    • Relationship triggers: reacting and responding to people around us in ways that we don’t want to. –this includes intense feelings of rejection and abandonment.

    • Anxiety disorders: Generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, phobias and social anxiety/phobia.

    • Obsessive-compulsive disorders: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), body dysmorphic disorder and hoarding disorder.

    • Personality disorders: Borderline personality disorder, avoidant personality disorder.

    • Trauma: Acute stress disorder, PTSD and adjustment disorder.

    —and more

  • Every situation is different. Most people do EMDR therapy for several weeks to a few months.

    Much of this depends on what kind of distressing experiences we are processing. A one-time event, like a car accident that causes panic, may be able to be reprocessed in a few sessions. Childhood trauma or repeated distressing events over a life-time can take many months.

Potential Course of Treatment:

I get a lot of questions about what EMDR therapy looks like in practice. The following is a very general overview of how things can go.


Please note, this is a very general idea and does apply to every situation. Some things that can make this look different include: multiple traumas, childhood trauma, negative self-view, lack of support, anxiety, depression and use of substances. It’s important to be aware that many people do EMDR therapy for several weeks but there are also many people who do EMDR therapy for a year or more. I am putting this information here to highlight how EMDR is different than traditional talk-therapy. It is very structured and, after the first two phases, there is not a lot of talk-therapy style conversation happening in the sessions.


Initial Consultation: this can be scheduled online. It usually takes about half an hour. During this meeting we will assess if your situation is one that I can help with and you can decide if I seem like someone you would want to work with. (I dont get offended if the answer is no!) We will also discuss scheduling to see if I have a time slot that can work with your schedule.

Paperwork: I will get your name and information entered in my Electronic Health Records system and the insurance billing system. You will get consent forms from one or two sources (depending on which insurance company you have) and will be required to enter your insurance information as well as a credit or debit card that will be used for your deductible and co-pay amounts. Both system’s forms must be filled out and signed, and a credit card on file, prior to the first session.



Sessions Begin:

Phase 1: History/Target Sequence Planning: Duration: 2-3 sessions

During this phase we will complete your intake interview and identify the disturbing/traumatic memories that need to be processed. We will create a Target Sequence Plan that will direct our sessions.

Homework: you will be asked to fill out the EMDR Workbook online. This needs to be complete before the second session.

Phase 2: Preparation/Stabilization Duration: 2-3 sessions

During this phase we will help you develop your ability to manage problematic symptoms. You will develop an imagined Secure Place and a Container to be used during EMDR processing, you will receive psychoeducation on your diagnoses, you will be taught coping skills to help with managing the symptoms you experience. During this phase we will also explore which type of bilateral stimulation works best for you.

Homework: you will be asked to practice taking your mind to the Secure Place each day for a short time. This is a critical piece of the process -please set a reminder in your phone to practice it each day.

Phases 3 – 7: Assessment, Desensitization, Instillation, Body scan, Closure Duration: 3-6 sessions

During these phases, we will be processing the disturbing/traumatic memories that you identified in phase 1. This is the phase that is most commonly thought of when thinking of EMDR. You will be doing the eye movements or other bilateral stimulation or using the FLASH technique during these sessions.

Homework:

  • You will be asked to continue taking your mind to the Secure Place each day.

  • You will be asked to fill out a worksheet that tracks and identifies triggers. (this will be emailed to you each week, you can add to the form as the week goes on and need to submit it by 8am the morning of your next session).

  • You will be asked to fill out an online form by 8am the morning of your session to report how things were between sessions. (This will be emailed to you the day before your session).

Phase 8: Reevaluation Duration: 1 session

During this phase we will reassess the memories you processed in phases 3 – 7 to ensure they are no longer problematic.

This entire process may be repeated if there are multiple traumas or memories that are not resolved with the initial treatment. This is why it is hard to predict how long treatment might take.

Again, please note: this is a very general idea of how things go. There are many factors that can make this take a longer amount of time -sometimes it’s shorter. My goal is to get you to the point where you don’t feel like you need therapy and I utilize as many tools as I can to get you there as quickly as possible. But each person’s past experiences are different, their nervous system and brains are different, and their response to treatment is different.