What is EMDR Therapy?
And how can it help me?
EMDR was originally created as a trauma therapy but has since been found to help with concerns like anxiety and self-esteem as well. EMDR can be effective for clients of all ages.
About EMDR
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. But what does that really mean? How can it help?
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Eye Movement (EM): This type of therapy requires bilateral stimulation, a technical term for repeated back and forth movement from the right side of your body to your left. This can be done through following your therapist's fingers back and forth, holding "buzzies" or "tappers" that vibrate between your left and right hands, or even tapping each side of your body back and forth yourself. This right to left movement helps activate both sides of your brain, allowing the trauma or other negative event to be processed fully.
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Desensitization (D): EMDR aims to help the memory of what happened not feel so terrible anymore. You won't lose the memory, but it may feel "fuzzier" and have less intense emotions tied to it.
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Reprocessing (R): EMDR helps you fully process the memory of what happened. Negative thoughts you have about yourself related to the event may be changed to more realistic or positive thoughts. EMDR helps the memory feel like it is truly in the past and you no longer have to relive the terror of what happened.
What if I haven't experienced trauma?
Many people might not realize that experiences they've had actually could be classified as trauma, or they write off the events as "not that bad." Trauma can be any event (one-time or ongoing) that causes you to feel so overwhelmed that you don't know how to cope.
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EMDR can help you process life-threatening experiences that you might classify more readily as trauma, such as abuse, neglect, witnessing violence, or sexual assault. However, it can be just as effective in processing events that were not life-threatening but still affected you greatly, like being bullied, being cheated on by a partner, your parents' divorce, or loss of a loved one.
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At Inner Spark Therapy, we believe that any negative experience you have had that still affects you today is worthy of addressing in therapy when you are ready.
