Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
(EMDR)

It constantly feels like you are re-living the past.

But here is the thing – the past only affects you as much as you let it.

You have the power to change the trajectory of the rest of your life.

Some experiences are hard to process.

Just like your body heals after a long day so does your brain. Each night, your brain processes and stores thousands of memories in long-term filing cabinets in your brain called the hippocampus. While storing these memories, it attaches a time and date to them. Think of it as a timestamp.

Each morning, your brain and body wake up knowing that what happened the day before was in the past, so you no longer have to respond as if whatever happened is still happening.

But it’s not always a seamless transition.

Sometimes, we experience something so significant our brain cannot process it as smoothly. Instead of recognizing the memory as a past event and storing it away, it lands in the nervous system.

Uh-oh. Now What?

Your brain and body are confused. Logically, you know this event happened in the past, but somatically, your body thinks it is still happening repeatedly.

This experience often leads to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms, Chronic Pain, Chronic Fatigue, Anxiety, Depression and more.

EMDR can help refocus those feelings and process them logically and somatically in times of traumatic stress.

So, now is the time to try EMDR.

EMDR is a powerful and widely studied trauma treatment that activates your brain’s adaptive information processing system.

Through bilateral stimulation (BLS), the simultaneous activation of your brain’s right and left sides, you can reprocess the event or events and give them their appropriate timestamp.

EMDR may sound scary, but it is one of the least invasive, safest forms of trauma healing.

Although EMDR won’t completely erase the memory, it makes it less impactful on your daily functioning. The details are less vivid and the emotions less intense.

How does EMDR work?

First, we will develop and utilize various coping skills for use when things get tough. Together, we will dig into the patterns and cycles that create discomfort. You will learn to read your body and recognize the subtle changes before the discomfort becomes overwhelming.

You’ll practice the techniques to stretch the window between comfort and dysregulation. When it comes time to process the trauma, you will whole-heartedly know that you can find safety because the pain and the memories are in the past.

Next, we will pinpoint the details of the challenging experience and bring it to mind. While you think about the memory, you will begin to activate the right and left sides of the brain. This process consists of moving from right to left, whether visually, audibly, tactilely or physically.

We will continuously check in and see what changes have occurred within your memory and body until you reach a place of comfort and ease with a new belief about yourself.

Your body no longer has to respond as it did at that moment.
You are safe.
You can relax and breathe.

Let’s work to help you process that recycling experience that keeps you stuck. EMDR can help!