Depression, anxiety, panic attacks, flashbacks, and insomnia are all common responses to traumatic events. If you feel caught in the past, reliving unpleasant events, you may benefit from EMDR therapy.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a form of therapy intended to treat those that have experienced any form of trauma, big or small. EMDR helps all varieties of trauma, from car accidents and combat to more longer-term traumas like parental abuse, bullying, or ongoing harassment EMDR is a no-frills, direct form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy that seeks to alleviate the symptoms of PTSD by changing our association to the traumatic memory.
Unlike many other talk therapy forms, EMDR quickly and systematically goes after the root causes of traumatic suffering. The four basic steps of EMDR therapy are 1. Establish a felt sense of safety through guided imagery, relaxation, and word association 2. a narrow target of therapy to single traumatic events 3. Desensitize our nervous system’s response to trauma-triggers (loud noises, raised voices, strangers, etc.) by revisiting the traumatic memory with a sense of safety 4. Reprocess unhelpful beliefs about yourself that were established as a response to trauma (ex. I’m never going to be happy again because the car accident made me a broken person). The eye-movement portion of this therapy looks a bit like hypnosis, but rest assured that you are in complete control of your experience. No mystical faith is required.
Many individuals that have seen little progress with their trauma symptoms in long-term talk therapy can make significant gains in only a few sessions of EMDR. The feelings around single-event traumas, car accidents, assaults, or unexpected deaths often change rapidly. Many of those in long-term therapy that have uncovered developmental trauma or Complex PTSD (C-PTSD) find EMDR a helpful complement to their existing therapy.
Please contact me if you’re interested in learning more or booking a free consultation to discuss more in-depth.
I am Level 1 Trained in the use of EMDR from Rick Levinson, LCSW.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a form of therapy intended to treat those that have experienced any form of trauma, big or small. EMDR helps all varieties of trauma, from car accidents and combat to more longer-term traumas like parental abuse, bullying, or ongoing harassment EMDR is a no-frills, direct form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy that seeks to alleviate the symptoms of PTSD by changing our association to the traumatic memory.
Unlike many other talk therapy forms, EMDR quickly and systematically goes after the root causes of traumatic suffering. The four basic steps of EMDR therapy are 1. Establish a felt sense of safety through guided imagery, relaxation, and word association 2. a narrow target of therapy to single traumatic events 3. Desensitize our nervous system’s response to trauma-triggers (loud noises, raised voices, strangers, etc.) by revisiting the traumatic memory with a sense of safety 4. Reprocess unhelpful beliefs about yourself that were established as a response to trauma (ex. I’m never going to be happy again because the car accident made me a broken person). The eye-movement portion of this therapy looks a bit like hypnosis, but rest assured that you are in complete control of your experience. No mystical faith is required.
Many individuals that have seen little progress with their trauma symptoms in long-term talk therapy can make significant gains in only a few sessions of EMDR. The feelings around single-event traumas, car accidents, assaults, or unexpected deaths often change rapidly. Many of those in long-term therapy that have uncovered developmental trauma or Complex PTSD (C-PTSD) find EMDR a helpful complement to their existing therapy.
Please contact me if you’re interested in learning more or booking a free consultation to discuss more in-depth.
I am Level 1 Trained in the use of EMDR from Rick Levinson, LCSW.