EMDR Frequently Asked Questions
What is EMDR?Is EMDR effective?
How can EMDR help me?
What do you mean by "negative life event?"
EMDR Sounds Intense!
How many EMDR sessions will I need?
Can any therapist perform EMDR?
What is EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a powerful comprehensive method of psychotherapy. It is a very effective treatment if you are suffering from a trauma, eg car accident, physical/sexual abuse, or combat fatigue. It can be equally effective for helping you heal from other negative life experiences as well, eg loss of a relationship, loss of a job, death of a loved one. EMDR uses a combination of both dual stimulus (left/right eye movements, left/right sound, or other left/right stimulus) at the same time you are also recalling a negative/disturbing memory or trauma. As your therapist, I will offer help and guidance as you begin the process of working through the disturbing event. While this process is taking place I have available a number of therapeutic techniques to assist you in resolving/healing from the disturbing memory/event. This approach helps accelerate you through the healing process and the event seems to fade or lose its power.
Is EMDR effective?
EMDR has undergone extensive research and
controlled studies. It has been studied both in universities and by the
Veterans Administration, as well as by other organizations. The results of
these studies have shown EMDR to be a more comprehensive and rapid treatment
procedure for trauma than the more commonly known therapies of cognitive
behavioral, biofeedback, and the standard sit/talk therapy session. Due to
this extensive research, EMDR has been shown to be an empirically supported
method of treatment for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) by several
nationally well known and respected organizations here in the US as well as
around the world.
How can EMDR help me?
When a negative life event or trauma has
occurred there are often a variety of symptoms you might be experiencing.
Some of these symptoms can have an immediate impact on you if the
event was severe enough. These symptoms can include flashbacks, seeing the
event happening over and over again in your mind, or you might find
yourself afraid or avoiding things that remind you of the event. You
might be feeling anxious, sad or tearful when you least expect it, or
feeling excessive guilt, or possibly having nightmares/bad dreams. Sometimes
the symptoms are less obvious, such as experiencing chronic depression
or anxiety, or being chronically short tempered or excessively angry.
Other common problems you may be having are problems falling
asleep or staying asleep. Your concentration and focus can also be
negatively impacted.
Individuals who have received EMDR as a way to treat the negative
event/trauma have often shown a dramatic reduction in their symptoms. It can
be an effective way to lessen or eliminate intrusive thoughts, painful
emotions, fear and anger as well as a host of other negative symptoms. This
can improve your sense of well-being and enjoyment in life.
Although it has helped countless people since its development it is not for
everyone nor for every symptom. As a qualified trained treatment
provider I can help determine if this would be a good fit for your treatment
needs.
What is a "negative life event"?
There are obvious traumas a person may have
undergone, such as being involved in a serious car accident, or having been
sexually/physically assaulted/abused. This can quickly lead to PTSD
mentioned above and most individuals are aware of the impact this type of
obvious trauma can have on them.
However, there are other less obvious traumas I am calling negative life
events which also can cause havoc in a person's live. These are things such
as the loss of a relationship, loss of a job (being fired or laid off),
growing up in a home that was dysfunctional (possibly due to a parent's
alcohol/drug abuse), or having been chronically teased/made fun of by peers.
These are only a few of many examples of what I mean by negative life
events. These less obvious traumas can continue to cause significant
pain and dysfunction even years after the event is over.
If you have had an event in your life (no matter how long ago it happened)
and it still hurts when you allow yourself to
think about it, then this can be causing you problems in the here and now.
EMDR may be able to help with this.
EMDR sounds intense
As your therapist, I will create a safe environment
which will help you begin the process of moving through the negative
thoughts and feelings that might come up during the session. Your are always
in control of whether to continue or to stop the session or when you want to
take a break during the session. You can also choose how much you want
to share about what you are experiencing. During the session I can
offer a number of different techniques to help safely guide you
through the painful memories/events.
How many EMDR sessions will I need?
There are a number of variables that go into this
answer. How severe is the trauma or negative life event, how long did it go
on for, what types of support systems do you currently have in place.
These and other questions must be answered during the history taking
process.
EMDR can be a very effective and fast treatment in comparison to more
traditional treatment methods but there are no hard and fast rules as to how
long it takes. Simple traumas or negative life events often can be
resolved in about six sessions or less. Multiple traumas or negative
life events or prolonged exposure to the traumas or negative life
events can take a much longer period of time to resolve. However,
the individual generally notices they will begin to feel better as they
continue working through these issues.
Can any therapist perform EMDR?
It is recommended to check with the EMDR
International Association (EMDRIA) as they keep a list of therapists
who have completed the training classes as well as those therapist who have
gone on to become EMDR certified therapists. The EMDR certified therapists
have achieved the highest standards for training and for
supervision in order to obtain this certification. As a certified EMDR
therapist I will be able to assist you in evaluating if EMDR would be
helpful to you.