Reprocessing Experiences
with EMDR: Exploring A New Option
with EMDR: Exploring A New Option
Moving forward after experiencing a traumatic or tragic event can be remarkably difficult. Many individuals that experience trauma later begin to experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These symptoms can be chronic and pervasive, impacting your ability to live your life as you would like to. There are many therapeutic approaches that can help to decrease and eliminate these intrusive symptoms, EMDR is one of them.
What is EMDR?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement and Desensitization Reprocessing therapy. This approach was developed by American psychologist Francine Shapiro, who states that it is “an empirically validated treatment for trauma.” It is a breakthrough intervention that utilizes eye movement and taps or tones for reprocessing memories or experiences that contribute to a person’s intrusive symptoms.
The goal of EMDR is to modify the ways troubling memories affect you, particularly when you have PTSD. Going through the eight phases of EMDR enables you to reprocess the memories of your traumatic experience and gives you another chance to find closure or resolution.
Though it was initially utilized to treat PTSD, it is gaining ground as an effective approach for other diagnoses as well. The other reasons for its growing popularity are that it can facilitate adaptive information processing, it is non-invasive, and it is cost-effective. EMDR is now recognized and endorsed by a number of authority organizations, including the clinical division of the American Psychiatric Association.
How and Why EMDR Works
Trauma often needs to be addressed, or it can continue to resurface and impact your ability to function. Upsetting life experiences can have the power to derail your natural ability to process and manage life challenges. EMDR allows for a safe place for you to process and reframe traumatic memories and beliefs surrounding these events.
Many have seen vast improvements in symptoms through the use of EMDR. Two experts quoted in a post about EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Programs on the website Trauma Recovery are worth citing:
“We believe that EMDR induces a fundamental change in brain circuitry similar to what happens in REM sleep—that allows the person undergoing treatment to more effectively process and incorporate traumatic memories into general association networks in the brain. This helps the individual integrate and understand the memories within the larger context of his or her life experience.”—Robert Stickgold, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School
“EMDR quickly opens new windows on reality, allowing people to see solutions within themselves that they never knew were there. And it’s a therapy where the client is very much in charge, which can be particularly meaningful when people are recovering from having their power taken away by abuse and violation.”—Laura S. Brown, Ph.D., recipient of the APA Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Public Service
Finding an EMDR Therapist
EMDR is transforming lives. It is offering people an effective way to treat their symptoms if they have had difficulty finding the right therapy for them. It is applicable for a wide range of conditions that result from traumatic emotional experiences. Aside from PTSD, clinicians and therapists trained in EMDR are using it to treat addictions, eating disorders, personality disorders, various types of anxiety disorders, low self-esteem, body dysmorphic disorders, etc.
If you have experienced some form of trauma and have not been able to find relief, it may be time to explore EMDR. At Carolina Counseling Services — Pittsboro, NC, you can see an expert therapist trained in EMDR. With the right counselor, this approach can be more than a set of techniques: it can be a model that reinforces positive life experiences, supports emotional health and improves quality of life. Call Carolina Counseling Services — Pittsboro, NC, now to schedule your first appointment.