EMDR Therapy

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) Therapy is a useful and effective treatment for wide range of problems, from experiencing violence, to grief, to relationship patterns that are hard to break.

The first step in EMDR is creating a calm state. This involves finding ways to feel calm or safe in your body. We can do this step at any time, even if you’re not ready to get into past trauma.

We would start by identifying the belief that you want to work on, such as “I’m not good enough”, “I’m not safe”, “I don’t belong”. We would explore how that belief is showing up in your life now, and then we would look at earlier experiences of that feeling. Then, we “reprocess” each of those memories using eye movements, tapping, or sounds, to take the power out of those early memories so they are not stored in the body in a way that causes us to have intense reactions.

The last step is integrating the new, more rational and true belief, like “I am ok”, “I can keep myself safe” or “I belong”, instilling it in the body and playing out how we can react in future situations.

A great resource for reading more about EMDR is Francine Shapiro’s book Getting Past Your Past. Contact me to learn more.