Trauma & EMDR Therapy
Trauma Therapy
Are you not feeling like yourself lately. Has it been feeling like your past is creeping in on you? Everything seemed fine, and now your life seems disrupted in a moment’s notice. You are second-guessing yourself and even not trusting others. Maybe you are even having difficulty sleeping or having disturbing thoughts or images flash in your mind.
You try to be “normal” and pretend that you’re okay, but the truth is you are struggling inside, and it is starting to show itself. You think to yourself: “I hoped this would go away, but it hasn’t” “It’s all my fault.” “What if no one believes me?” ” I can’t carry this burden anymore.”
You don’t have to experience this alone. I’m here to help you heal and feel whole again. Your story and experience are real. I can help by listening and understanding the experience you have gone through. My knowledge and skills will help you cope when those disrupting moments come on, along with allowing you to heal from your past.
What you experienced is real, and it isn’t your fault. You don’t have to carry this alone any further. There is healing for you. You deserve to feel whole. Take that step today!
What is EMDR Therapy?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) helps heal your traumatic memories by using light movements to reprocess your disruptive memories in a safe environment. A traumatic memory can make you feel like you are stuck in life. That is because your memory is stuck. Traumatic memory is stored in your impulsive memory, causing your intrusive thoughts, overwhelming emotions, or images. For a traumatic memory to heal, it needs to be reprocessed to your explicit memory so you can feel safe and gain clarity regarding your trauma. Reprocessing a memory happens by using bilateral stimulation (eye movements or light tapping) while focusing on your memory. The result is having less intrusive thoughts and images, responsive behavior instead of reactive, and feeling whole instead of disconnected from self. You may say that after EMDR sessions, it feels like you are aware of the trauma, but it feels further away. EMDR allows you to take control of something you didn’t have control of in your past. Now that you are safe, you get to choose to heal and feel whole again.
How does EMDR work in a counseling session?
EMDR treatment completed in phases (briefly stated below)
1) We work on just getting to know each, knowing your story, and what you are experiencing today that is causing you disruption.
2) We work together in finding helpful coping techniques that support you in calming and connecting to your body and mind when overwhelm arises.
3) Together, we identify the memory and thought that is causing the most disruption for you.
4) Besides utilizing your coping skills, we spend several sessions working on reprocessing traumatic memory. We reprocess the memory by focusing on the traumatic memory using eye movement or light tapping( bilateral stimulation), allowing the memory to become unstuck. You watch the memory unfold, noticing your thoughts, emotions, and body sensations. You only verbalize what is comfortable for you. The intensity then decreases, causing more relief, safety, and clarity.
5) Ending the work, you focus on what you have learned about yourself from EMDR. While utilizing your skills, you process more positive beliefs about yourself and a better outlook on your future.
You can heal, take control back, and find your confidence. You deserve to heal! Reach out now!