Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences and requires very little 'talk'. Disturbing life experiences can be described as trauma, abuse, or daily life experiences that are disturbing. Often times when people think of EMDR they think about intense trauma and while that was the initial focus of this treatment, it has since expanded to include general anxiety, targeting of negative thoughts of self, unhealthy or ineffective behaviors, substance use/abuse, smoking, ineffective thinking processes, and phobia such as fear of the dentist, doctor etc. Repeated studies show that by using EMDR therapy people can experience the benefits of psychotherapy that once took years to make a difference.
It is widely assumed that severe emotional pain requires a long time to heal. EMDR therapy shows that the mind can in fact heal from psychological trauma much as the body recovers from physical trauma. When you cut your hand, your body works to close the wound. If a foreign object or repeated injury irritates the wound, it festers and causes pain. Once the block is removed, healing resumes. EMDR therapy demonstrates that a similar sequence of events occurs with mental processes. The brain's information processing system naturally moves toward mental health. If the system is blocked or imbalanced by the impact of a disturbing event, the emotional wound festers and can cause intense suffering. Once the block is removed, healing resumes. Using the detailed protocols and procedures learned in EMDR therapy training sessions, clinicians help clients activate their natural healing processes.
In successful EMDR therapy, the meaning of painful events is transformed on an emotional level. For instance, a victim of trauma may shift from feeling horror and self-disgust to holding the firm belief that, "I survived it and I am strong." Unlike talk therapy, the insights clients gain in EMDR therapy result not so much from clinician interpretation, but from the client's own accelerated intellectual and emotional processes. The net effect is that clients conclude EMDR therapy feeling empowered by the very experiences that once debased them. Their wounds have not just closed, they have transformed. As a natural outcome of the EMDR therapeutic process, the clients thoughts, feelings and behavior are all robust indicators of emotional health and resolution - all without speaking in detail or doing homework used in other therapies.
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Jill Yates, LPC/LCPC
Jill is a highly-trained professional counselor who is available to discuss your therapy options. Contact her now to find out how to get started.
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