Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy

Enhancing The Way We Do Psychotherapy

 

Do you experience the following concerns:

 

• Self-blame, low self-esteem, shame, and/or guilt

• Chronic or excessive anger

• Indecisiveness, confusion, difficulty thinking

• Worry, anxiety, obsessive thinking, phobia, shyness, social anxiety 

• Unpleasant feelings, emptiness, mood swings

• Negativity, pessimism, irritability

• Trauma, sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, PTSD

• Sexual dysfunction

• Cravings related to addiction (i.e. smoking, alcohol dependence, and other substances)

• Anxiety, panic attacks, depression ​

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If so, EMDR is a powerful short-term therapeutic intervention designed to address the above concerns. If you had talk therapy in the past and found yourself still "stuck", EMDR may prove beneficial. This form of integrative psychotherapy allows you to stay in control while your brain does the healing.  EMDR has been extensively researched and proven effective in minimizing distress associated with trauma. For instance, an abuse victim shifts from feeling horror and anger 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. -EMDR Institute, Inc. 

 

EMDR is an eight-phase treatment approach (not 8 sessions) that focuses on the past and present experiences, with an emphasis on developing new skills and behaviors for the future. Those with single adult onset trauma can be treated in less than 5 hours; whereas, those with more complex trauma (more than one), may require longer treatment. 

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Eight phases of EMDR​

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Phase 1: Client History and Treatment Planning

Phase 2: Preparation and coping strategies 

Phase 3: Assessment

Phase 4: Desensitization/Reprocessing

Phase 5: Installation

Phase 6: Body Scan

Phase 7: Closure

Phase 8: Reevaluation 

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EMDR is safe for children, adolescents, adults, and couples.

 

 

Resources

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Watch Doctor Juggins' Video on EMDR: https://youtu.be/QY-6peHyVy0

 

For printable EMDR material click here 

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For more information please visit The EMDR International Association: https://www.emdria.org

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Watch this helpful video from 20/20 about EMDR: https://youtu.be/hYy2NBXkPSo

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