EMDR THERAPY
Is Unresolved Trauma Impacting Your Quality Of Life?
Trauma comes in many forms and is stored in many different ways, whether through images, cognitions, emotions, sensations in the body, or beliefs that are formed as a result. There’s more information on our Trauma Therapy page, but some examples of common traumatic experiences include (but are not limited to):
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Abuse of any kind
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Neglect
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Abandonment
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Car accidents
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Sudden loss
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Attachment traumas
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Bullying
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Financial stressors
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Community violence (mass shootings, hate crimes, etc.)
Those struggling with the effects of trauma—whether acute or long-term—often experience anxiety, depression, phobias, decreased self-esteem, relationship issues, and avoidance of certain people, places, or experiences.
Yet because trauma complicates the nervous system response on a deep level, talk therapy is not always sufficient enough in addressing core wounds. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) can be a great alternative when talk therapy is no longer offering relief.
What Is Eye Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing (EMDR)?
EMDR is a safe, evidence-based therapy approach that reprocesses the way that trauma is stored in the body. A traumatic response—fight, flight, freeze, or fawn—is what the nervous system’s default might be, but EMDR forms new connections in the brain in ways that help to distinguish past from present and allow for a calmer, clearer, more grounded experience in day-to-day life.
The 8 phases of EMDR are:
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History taking and Treatment Planning
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Preparation
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Assessment
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Desensitization
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Installation
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Body scan
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Closure
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Re-evaluation
Whereas most forms of trauma therapy involve talking through a difficult experience, EMDR can be relatively nonverbal. Instead, EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (such as eye-movements, tapping, or sound) to process, clear and help triggering memories get filed in a different filing cabinet in the brain—one that better recognizes past from present.
The EMDR Process
After understanding your history more and coming up with a treatment plan, your therapist will help prepare your system with resources and tools for you to use as you enter the desensitization phase of EMDR. This is important so that we reduce risk of overwhelm and re-traumatization.
Next, your therapist will help guide you through the development of target images or memories that are the source of your pain points. Using a light bar, tappers, or sound, you will cycle through the desensitization phase of EMDR, repeating the process of bilateral stimulation as needed until the target memory or image no longer causes distress (or, at the very least, distress is reduced substantially). The process mirrors REM sleep in that it allows you to re-interpret raw or disturbing material in a new, less harmful way.
EMDR Offers Relief Where Other Therapies Might Fall Short
Conventional approaches like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can no doubt be helpful in addressing trauma. However, if you’ve experienced trauma, and PTSD symptoms have developed, behavioral approaches are just not enough because trauma is typically stored much deeper in the body. A brain- and body-based approach is often necessary for targeting core trauma, as it addresses both emotional and physical symptoms. A holistic approach, EMDR tends to lead to faster, deeper healing.
Alongside being a quicker trauma treatment, EMDR also requires less verbal processing. If you struggle with discussing your experience, this approach offers a non-traumatizing way to re-process difficult experiences.
Studies show that Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is one of the most effective, evidence-based treatments for trauma available. In fact, a study published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress found that 77 percent of clients receiving EMDR no longer met the criteria for PTSD after treatment—compared to the 25 percent in the control group who received conventional talk therapy. [1]
At SoCal Individual, Family, & Trauma Therapy, We Believe In The Power Of EMDR
We are a group of trauma specialists who understand how to navigate the re-processing of traumatic experiences, instilling clients with a renewed sense of hope and peace. We often describe trauma as splinters in the brain; though they may be small, they’re painful and we can feel they are there. If left untreated, the pain can spread or even fester into a deeper wound. EMDR helps to extract those splinters; the traumatic memories may leave a tiny scar, but at least they won’t be tender to the touch anymore.
We believe so much in this therapy that nearly all of our clinicians are trained and certified through the EMDR International Association (EMDRIA). We continue to receive advanced training and remain up to date on the most current and effective trauma treatments available. When appropriate, we may incorporate EMDR alongside parts work or Internal Family Systems (IFS), somatic techniques, behavioral therapy, and couples-specific approaches.
Time and time again, clients come to us after trying years of therapy or just about everything to relieve their anxiety, overwhelm, distress, relationship issues, and core traumas. As a therapy that offers long-lasting, meaningful change, EMDR provides those clients with the peace and closure they have been seeking for months or years. We’ve witnessed this approach transform the lives of our clients (and ourselves!), and we know that it can change your life too.
True Healing Is Within Reach
EMDR therapy cannot rewrite history, but it can help it feel less distressing and more touchable, so you don’t need to continue pretzeling your way through life in survival mode. For more information about how EMDR addresses trauma or to schedule an appointment with one of our therapists, contact us.
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