EMDR Therapy
All of our clinicians are trained in EMDR Therapy.
EMDR Therapy addresses the psychological and physical symptoms stemming from adverse life experiences.
We provide EMDR Therapy for children, teens and adults. This therapy is transformative for situations where a past occurrence, feeling or belief continues to recycle and get in the way of how a person experiences life now. Sometimes no matter how much someone wants to shake the past, it comes up and gets in the way of living a healthy, happy life now.
Give me some examples of when this would be helpful:
-When you have experienced a traumatic event, and might be having nightmares or visions popping in about the event; losing sleep, feeling miserable and ruminating about the incident.
-When you have had a conflict with a family member or ex-partner and wants to stop having a visceral reaction to them...you want to be over it but your body gets fired up anyway.
-When you continue to struggle with feeling bad about yourself, even when a part of you "knows" that isn't true.
-When you struggle with intimacy but don't know why, or you are aware of past assaults/sexual abuse and wonder if it's impacting your life, even years later.
-When you notice controlling behaviors towards others and you're trying to change this.
-When you've had a car accident and are now anxious when driving, or want to avoid places or situations that remind you of a past accident or difficult experience.
-When you have suffered a loss and are struggling to move forward.
-When you feel "stuck" in life; with work, family or a relationship, or your mood.
-When you've had a medical trauma, surgeries, breathing problems or any trauma that included a struggle to breathe.
These are just a few common examples; we have successfully treated people suffering from these types of experiences.
What is different about it?
EMDR addresses how past experiences are stored in the body, which is the key to relief. When the brain is overwhelmed by an experience, it may not fully process and store the "story" away in a healthy way. EMDR reprocesses history to become stored in an adaptive way, allowing you to move forward instead of remaining splintered and vulnerable like a raw nerve - always needing to cover and protect itself, to avoid further pain.
Biologically speaking, the brain/body remembers the past, and often reacts whether a person wants it to or not. Leaving the past in the past is the goal. Freedom is often the outcome.
How will I know if it's for me?
Your therapist can assess if EMDR Therapy is a good fit for you, and more about how it works and what to expect for you personally.
If you are interested in learning about the possibility of receiving EMDR Therapy in an accelerated and effective way, read more here. Currently Victoria Ford and Carmen McHenry are scheduling Intensives. **Victoria is currently full.
Resources to learn more about EMDR:
- What is EMDR? Learn the basics
- What is an actual EMDR session like? Learn the 8 phases of treatment
- Introductory video about EMDR
- EMDR experts explain the benefits of EMDR
- EMDR patients share their stories
- An EMDR therapist shares her EMDR experience
Research in support of EMDR effectiveness:
- Twenty-four randomized controlled trials support the positive effects of EMDR therapy in the treatment of emotional trauma and other adverse life experiences relevant to clinical practice.
- Seven of 10 studies reported EMDR therapy to be more rapid and/or more effective than trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy.
- Twelve randomized studies of the eye movement component noted rapid decreases in negative emotions and/or vividness of disturbing images, with an additional 8 reporting a variety of other memory effects.
- Numerous other evaluations document that EMDR therapy provides relief from a variety of somatic complaints.
- Research and frequently asked questions about EMDR
Let us all be committed to our health and well being. The world is a better place when we join in this intention!
