You've heard "EMDR" a lot lately, and you're wondering if there's actually something to it. Could it actually help you?
Short answer: yes, EMDR therapy can be incredibly helpful for many clients.
Long answer: Let's get into what EMDR therapy is, why it's helpful, and how EMDR therapy works when you're doing online therapy.
What is EMDR Therapy, and how can it help?
EMDR Therapy, which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy, is a research-based therapeutic approach that helps clients reprocess and resolve traumas, as well as other mental health issues including anxiety, self-doubt, depression, and more.
While it started with eye movements, research has shown that other forms of bilateral stimulation (like tapping) are just as effective in EMDR. Bilateral stimulation is what is used, along with coregulation and support of a therapist, and guided, intentional focus in reprocessing, to help clients work through distressing beliefs, thoughts, and feelings.
Sometimes, when bad or scary things happen, our brains don’t process these events fully. Memories and feelings may get stuck, and you might realize that daily things can upset you in big ways, because they’re activating old memories that weren’t fully processed.
EMDR Therapy is an effective and often quicker way of reprocessing these issues, to help your brain store memories in a more helpful and less painful way. It uses your brain's natural forms of healing and processing to reduce your negative feelings or negative beliefs tied to painful experiences, and empowers you to live more fully in the present.
What this actually means for clients who engage in EMDR therapy:
Using EMDR, I’ve helped many clients with different issues including trauma, infertility, anxiety, parenting, and more.
You might have noticed thoughts that keep you feeling stuck, limiting beliefs that hold you back from loving yourself and others. Or you noticed emotional responses you tend to have in stressful situations, when you want to be more in control of yourself, but feel like you’re drowning in the waves of strong feelings.
EMDR can help you quiet the internal noise, understand yourself better, and operate from a place of calmness and clarity.
What to expect from EMDR Therapy online:
I know it can sound a bit confusing, to picture what a session actually looks like when participating in EMDR therapy. I offer virtual, online EMDR Therapy sessions, so you can have therapy from the comfort of your own home, and fit it into your daily life.
What EMDR Therapy looks like:
Like with any therapy, our first sessions are assessment, meaning we talk about your life experiences, past and present, as well as your hopes for the future. We explore what themes may show up in your relationships (with yourself and other) and what is bothering you most. I like to remind my clients, I know it can feel overwhelming when you’ve been holding so much for so long, but a thorough assessment enables us to organize your experiences so we can begin to make sense of them. You aren’t coming in to just “trauma dump” and leave things unresolved. You’re entering a therapeutic space where I do the work of organizing, holding, and helping you move through it all.
As we move through the process of therapy, we use EMDR as one of the tools in our therapy toolbox.
We do some resourcing, which you can think of as building coping skills and supports. When you’re working though negative experiences in therapy, it’s important to have inner resources that you can use, in session or outside of session, to help when things feel stressful. I help you build and practice these in session, so when you’re in a moment of stress in life, when your boss is upset or your kids are yelling or the day turns to chaos, your nervous system has learned and already knows what to do to help you find calm.
We then begin to work on reprocessing the distressing thoughts, feelings, and memories you may be bringing to therapy.
We identify the parts you want to target, and I help you as we create a space for your brain to do its natural healing and reprocessing work, using bilateral stimulation as a tool to support the work you're doing. Therapy can help you change your thoughts, your feelings, and the actions you take, to live more aligned with your goals and values.
What is Bilateral Stimulation?
Bilateral Stimulation (or BLS) is alternating sensory input, like eye movements, tapping, or sound, that engages both sides of the body and brain. It is used in EMDR therapy to help your brain naturally reprocess and store information in more adaptive ways.
Some clients like to use eye movements for bilateral stimulation when reprocessing. Because EMDR therapy with me is online, I offer a program that clients can easily access through a link, that gives them a visual stimulus on the screen to guide their eye movements.
Some clients prefer tapping when using EMDR. They've shared that they appreciate being able to close their eyes for better focus, while tapping (alternating sides). I guide the rhythm of tapping so they are able to focus on reprocessing.
EMDR therapy empowers you to find healing and reach your goals in therapy more quickly.
With the therapist facilitating reprocessing, you as the client can focus on simply noticing and tuning into your experience in reprocessing. In EMDR therapy, there are no right or wrong answers. It’s you, with support from me, moving through your thoughts, feelings, images, and experiences. EMDR therapy helps you to feel better faster and develop more positive, true beliefs and thoughts.
EMDR therapy online is effective, just like in-person therapy.
It also allows you to more easily fit therapy into your daily routine. You’re able to leave session feeling more regulated and immediately see the benefits of therapy working for you in your life.
If you’re interested in EMDR therapy online in South Carolina, reach out today to schedule a consultation and get started.
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