EMDR Therapy

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It was developed in the late 1980’s by Dr. Francine Shapiro. This therapy involves the use of bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements, taps, or sounds, to help individuals process and integrate distressing memories and emotions that have been stored in a fragmented and dysregulated manner.

Basically, by engaging each side of the body in an alternate manner, it helps “light up” the entire brain. This means the brain is active and engaged. Then by focusing on past traumatic memories, the brain will start to engage in its natural healing process and integrate those “stuck” memories in a helpful way.

It certainly is kinda “weird” in a cool way and most importantly, it’s backed by research as being highly effective.

EMDR uses a technique that engages the brain’s natural healing process to integrate past traumas and hurts in a way that is better understood for the individual.

In regular “talk therapy” there is much more talking through problems and past hurts. Many times clients report a lot of awareness and better understanding of themselves through talk therapy, however they often still struggle with triggers. Sometimes we can come to a rational understanding of things, but still be stuck with the emotional experience of it.

EMDR helps with all this, as it’s actually getting to the core disturbance that is stuck in the mind.

EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (BLS) which are techniques that stimulate both sides of the brain. Originally this was done with eye movements back and forth, however it now can also include tapping, and/or auditory. It is thought that this replicates our eye movements during REM sleep. During this process it appears that our mind is processing and making sense of information including unconscious material.

When using BLS with past traumas and hurts, it allows the brain to process through past experiences that had gotten “stuck” because of the distressing nature of the situation. By processing through this past information, it allows the person to make better sense of it in the present and to come to a more adaptive and positive way to see themselves.

Prior to actually engaging in an EMDR session, we’ll spend some time preparing for it. This will include taking a more detailed history of your life’s experiences and focusing building up resources to manage any distressing and upsetting emotions.

For an actual EMDR session, we will decide what to “target” which is typically a disturbing memory, or a symptom. Then I will guide you through a series of sets where you will focus on the target in your mind as you engage in bilateral stimulation (BLS). We’ll take pauses along the way to see what is coming up for you and then continue to process until you come to a positive resolution or we determine it’s a good stopping point.

While you are doing this processing, different images, feelings, sensations, and thoughts will come up for you. Your role is to just allow them to come up (without judging it) and basically “witness” what is happening. You can think of it like being on a train and watching the scenery go by.

As you engage in the BLS, the upsetting memory/experience will naturally start to move to a more adaptive and positive understanding of yourself.

This will vary and be dependent on history, the level and amount of symptoms/distress you have, and your goals. While EMDR can help treat and resolve past trauma more quickly than other types of therapy, it’s still hard to say how many sessions one may need. Having a mix of EMDR sessions with your more typical “talk therapy” sessions, can be helpful to further your work.

In my experience, I have found most people report some improvement after 10-12 sessions. I have also found that we need time for life to happen- we need to live our life with the new understandings we have from therapy and give ourselves an opportunity to do things differently. Most of my clients tend to work with me for 6 months to a year.

Yes! EMDR can be utilized online and has been found to be just as effective. With all online therapy, it is important that you have a private space where you won’t be interrupted. Also, you want to make sure you have the external supports and resources to use outside of therapy. These will be things we discuss in the beginning of therapy, prior to an actual EMDR session.

Yes- any coverage you have for mental health would include EMDR therapy. Typically, EMDR sessions are longer than regular talk therapy sessions (60 to 90 minutes versus 45/50 minutes). Many times insurance has restrictions on length and frequency of sessions, so while not ideal, we can still create a plan to work within these restrictions, it just may mean needing a longer period of time.

Currently I am in-network with United Healthcare/Optum and Aetna. Any other insurance I would be considered out of network, however I can give you a receipt you can use to submit to your insurance company for partial reimbursement if your coverage allows for that.

Someone who is experiencing a very high level of distressing symptoms will first need to focus on building up resourcing skills to help them better manage these symptoms. We also want to make sure that you have supports and/or a plan for how to help yourself between sessions.

Someone who is in a current crisis, including suicidal, hearing voices or seeing things, will need to be stabilized first, before considering if EMDR could be a treatment option.

If you are pregnant, have some significant medical concerns such as heart problems, seizures, respiratory distress, then EMDR may not be appropriate for you. You would need to get a doctor’s approval prior.

If you are involved in a legal case around the concerning issue/memory, then EMDR may not be suited for you. This is because it may decrease the emotionality and clarity/sharpness around the memory which could negatively impact the legal case.

Great, please reach out to set up a consultation so we can discuss more your goals for therapy to see if EMDR is a good fit.