EMDR Therapy

Online & IN-PERSON counseling in missouri

Trauma Doesn’t Have to Run Your Life

Are you someone who has experienced trauma in your life whether it be a one time event or ongoing and repeated trauma? You may be a good candidate for EMDR. You may be experiencing emotional reactions due to your trauma, struggling in relationships, or even experiencing unexplainable physical symptoms. 

Maybe you are feeling like you are always on edge, like something bad is about to happen. You can’t seem to shake off these memories of the past like they are haunting you. Are you feeling numb and disconnected from everything, even from yourself?


“The past affects the present even without our being aware of it.”

— Francine Shapiro.

EMDR Can Help You Take Back Your Life

EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a therapy technique used to help people recover from distressing life experiences. During EMDR, you'll focus on a specific memory while I help you bridge both sides of your brain using eye movements or tapping. This process helps your brain reprocess the memory, reducing its emotional impact and allowing you to move forward with less distress.

EMDR is effective at treating:

  • PTSD

  • Motor vehicle accidents

  • Panic attacks

  • Natural disasters

  • Critical illness

  • Traumatic labor and delivery

  • Humiliation at work or school

EMDR can help you heal from your past trauma so that you are not as impacted by traumatic memories in your day to day life.   You no longer have to be controlled by your past.

HOW DOES EMDR WORK?

EMDR focuses on particular past traumatic experiences, memories, negative thoughts, intense emotions, and strong physical sensations. It aims to reduce the intensity of your feelings and memories using bilateral stimulation.

What is bilateral stimulation?

Bilateral stimulation refers to sensory stimuli, such as sounds, tapping, and eye movement, that activate both sides of the brain. Bilateral stimulation is a tool used in eye movement desensitization therapy (EMDR), as it can soothe and calm the client’s nervous system, enhancing the client’s access to positive images, thoughts, emotions and body sensations.

There are 8 phases of EMDR treatment:

  • History taking and treatment planning: defining your treatment goals and identifying your past traumas and the worst part of it

  • Preparation: ensuring that you have sufficient coping skills that may be needed throughout the therapy. 

  • Assessment: identifying a specific target to work on, the thoughts and feelings behind it, rating the level of disturbance and identifying the positive thoughts to replace the negative thoughts. 

  • Desensitization: using bilateral stimulation to reduce the disturbance of the trauma.

  • Installation: using bilateral stimulation to increase the intensity and buy in to positive beliefs and feelings.

  • Body scan: doing a self-check to determine if there are any negative feelings or thoughts left surrounding the target memory. 

  • Closure: you will return to a calm state whether the disturbance was resolved or not in order to end the session.

  • Reevaluation: reviewing the progress of treatment and evaluating the results of the last session and identifying and new targets to address.

BENEFITS 

EMDR can help with:


  • Reduction in distress

  • Improved self-esteem

  • Alleviation of PTSD symptoms 

  • Reduced anxiety and depression

  • Transform negative beliefs

  • Resolve and integrate past traumas

Lets let go of your trauma together…

FAQS

Common questions about EMDR Therapy

  • EMDR can often alleviate emotional distress and show results faster than most traditional forms of therapy.This is because bilateral stimulation can help clients rapidly heal, get "unstuck" and complete the processing of a memory or fear so healing and growth can occur.

    Due to EMDR relying on processing happening in the brain, less talking is required in EMDR sessions than in other forms of therapy.

    EMDR is based on a theory that suggests when a person finds themselves feeling "stuck," the left and right sides of the brain no longer communicate around the negative belief, making it harder for some traditional therapies to have an effect

    Both the left and right sides of the brain are stimulated during an EMDR session while a therapist guides a client through recalling a traumatic event or disturbing experience, allowing for reprocessing and healing to take place.

    Bilateral stimulation can occur using eye movements, following a therapist's fingers from left to right, watching a light from one eye to the other, listening to sounds from one ear to the other, or using a tapping method.

    EMDR therapy can often help where other approaches, such as talk therapy, have failed.

  • Absolutely! Your therapist will send you a link to open when it is time forth bi-lateral stimulation where you can watch it on your computer or iPad and it can be controlled by the therapist in real-time.

  • Together we’ll discuss the possibility of using EMDR. We can discuss whether it’s appropriate, and how it can be part of our work together. The length of treatment will vary, depending on what you’re looking to resolve, your life circumstances, the extent of past trauma, your current psychological resources, etc. While EMDR is designed to speed up your ability to heal, it’s not a one-time treatment. But results may be somewhat more rapid than in conventional talk therapy. My clients and I continue to be amazed at how quickly change can occur with this technique.

  • There is a high success rate for a reduction in mental health symptoms after completing EMDR therapy. A 2014 study found that 77% of the study’s participants no longer met the criteria for PTSD after completing EMDR therapy. Other studies declare that EMDR therapy is an effective treatment for medical trauma as well as  for those with acute mental illness.


    Overall, there is much empirical evidence that supports EMDR’s efficacy in treating mental illness, making it an effective therapy approach.

  • EMDR therapy requires that you have a strong sense of security in your daily life. If you suffer from substance abuse issues, current abusive relationships, housing insecurity, and other situations that negatively impact your foundation, you may not fully benefit from EMDR therapy. It’s important that you have strong coping skills ready to use when engaging in EMDR therapy, in case you become overwhelmed by your traumatic memories.

    You should also not use EMDR therapy if you don’t yet trust your therapist or there isn’t a strong therapeutic alliance. It is important to the success of treatment to feel safe around your therapist.