Life experiences shape how we see ourselves, others, and the world around us. You may have gone through a distressing or traumatic event in your childhood, adolescence or adult life (such as abuse, neglect, physical and/or sexual assault, the sudden death/loss of a loved one, etc) and you don’t know how to move on. Or you may find yourself inadvertently entering into problematic patterns in your relationships with others. Alternatively, you could be finding yourself quickly reacting to things in a more extreme or intense way than what seems logical. If any of these situations resonate with you, EMDR could be the right treatment option for us to consider. EMDR significantly helps individuals suffering from anxiety, history of trauma, PTSD, and those who are experiencing unwanted intrusive thoughts or are caught in negative patterns of thinking, feeling stuck in uncomfortable emotions, or are engaging in undesirable habits/behaviors. 

If we decide EMDR is right for you, I will guide you in an 8 step process over the course of several sessions. Although EMDR can be very intensive, you are always in complete control and we will spend as much time as is needed to prepare you appropriately to ensure your emotional safety. The process consists of the following:

• History taking and treatment planning
  • • In this first phase, I will create a safe, nonjudgmental atmosphere in therapy to build trust and to develop a deeper understanding about how your past experiences may be impacting your current functioning. 
• Preparation
  • • As we continue building trust, I will then teach you a variety of relaxation and coping skills to regulate emotional distress. Additionally, I will teach you mindfulness practices to help you stay present in the here and now. In this phase, I will also provide you with clear expectations of what to expect as we move into the next phase of treatment.
• Assessment
  • • In this phase, I will ask you a structured set of questions to target specific memories we have identified in history taking that are causing your current concerns. You will never be asked to relive any of these memories, but rather think about how they are coming up for you in your present life, and how you view them from today. With each memory, I will ask you to pick one specific image that represents the worst part of the memory to you now as you look back. We will then explore how the memory is contributing to a current negative belief you have about yourself, as well as current distressing emotions and body sensations. We will also identify a positive belief you’re wanting to have instead, and I will ask you to rate how true it feels to you now as you recall the memory. I will also ask you to rate how distressing the memory is to you now.
• Desensitization
  • • During this phase, I will lead you in sets of bilateral movements (such as eye movements back and forth, me tapping back and forth on your legs or hands, or using a device you can hold in each hand that gently vibrates back and forth or headphones with tones that move back and forth in each ear) while you recall the memory we targeted in the assessment phase. During this phase I will ask you to allow your mind to free associate and notice wherever your mind goes naturally – this can be to other memories, thoughts, emotions, body sensations, and sometimes you may not notice anything at all. Intermittently, I will stop the bilateral movements and ask what you are noticing. I will then have you keep noticing that and see where your mind goes from there as I guide you through the bilateral movements for several sets. We will continue this over the course of however many sessions are necessary (unless you indicate you want to stop for any reason) until the distress of the memory we started with has been alleviated as much as possible. 
• Installation
  • •  Here we will revisit the positive belief you were wanting to achieve in our assessment phase, or we will identify a different one that feels more connected to the memory following desensitization. I will ask you to re-evaluate how true this belief feels to you now when you think back on the memory we targeted. The goal in this phase is for the positive belief to feel as true as it possibly can.
• Body Scan
  • •  In this phase, I will ask you to bring back up the memory we started working with and ask you to scan your body from head to toe to notice if you may still be experiencing any tension. If you are still experiencing tension, we will continue desensitization until you no longer feel any body distress when you recall the target memory.
• Closure
  • • After each EMDR session, I will make sure to check in with you about how you are feeling and what you are needing to feel well enough to go back into the rest of your day after you leave my office. This can consist of talking/debriefing about what came up for you and/or I can lead you in a relaxation exercise of your choosing (most of which will have been learned in the preparation phase). I will tell you a little more about what to expect between sessions, and remind you of ways to manage any distress that may come up until we meet again.
• Re-evaluation
  • • This last phase is repeated every session to measure how effective this treatment is for you. I will ask you to re-evaluate how distressing the memory we are working on is to determine next steps (i.e. continuing desensitization, installation, body scan, or moving on to a new target).

Through this process, we will thoroughly explore present situations that are causing you distress, any past memories that are contributing to your current concerns, and goals/skills you’re wanting to achieve for your future. To learn more you can click on the link below to schedule a free phone consultation with me, or you can visit the EMDR International Association website for additional information. 

I am certified in EMDR which means I have successfully completed extensive training, practice and consultation, and have been approved for certification by the EMDR International Association (you can view my profile by clicking here).