EMDR

Go from coping to healing

HELD ONLINE THROUGHOUT MARYLAND

Have you tried traditional talk therapy but not seen the change you were hoping for?

You’re feeling discouraged.

  • You try to cope with the feelings and reminders of what happened, but they still bother you.

  • You don’t want to be in therapy forever.

  • You’re afraid you’ll never feel better.

  • You want to move on with your life.

time for A different approach.

What is EMDR?

Imagine your brain is a computer, and all of your memories are files in that computer. Stressful or traumatic memories sometimes get saved in the wrong place, creating computer errors. EMDR helps your brain move the file where it needs to be to resolve the errors.

It does this through a combination of talking and bilateral stimulation. Bilateral stimulation is a fancy term for anything that activates one side of the body and then the other. EMDR is named for one type of bilateral stimulation: eye movement, where you look side to side without moving your head. The bilateral stimulation is a way of “hacking” your brain to help it heal from the trauma.

EMDR differs from many other therapies in that

1) You don’t have to talk about or relive the memory to do the therapy. How much you share is up to you. You don’t even have to remember what happened.

2) It can work quickly. People can make noticeable progress in as little as one session, depending on the person and the situation.

3) It can help change how the person genuinely feels about what happened, helping to eliminate triggers and create lasting change.

What to expect

EMDR targets three things to help the healing process:

  1. The past event

  2. How that event is impacting your life today

  3. Preparing for your desired future

The Phases of EMDR

  1. History & Planning: We get to know each other, and figure out what your priorities are for therapy.

  2. Preparation: You will be taught new skills to help you in working on the painful things that happened. Those skills will be helpful in daily life, as well.

  3. Assessment: We’ll work together to identify our starting point for our healing work.

  4. Desensitization: We will notice the event we’re working on, and combine that with bilateral stimulation. 

  5. Installation: We identify a positive or neutral belief you want to have instead of any negative beliefs you were carrying from the traumatic event. Once we know what it is, we help it feel more true to you.

  6. Body Scan: You notice how you’re feeling in your body, checking for any pleasant or unpleasant sensations that may be a sign of other work to be done.

  7. Closure: At the end of each session, we’ll bring you back to a state of calm to continue with the rest of your day.

  8. Reevaluation: At the next session, we check in to see where you’re at with what we worked on last time. If we’re ready, we move on to the next thing and start back over at phase 3.

If you’re tired of getting the same results, do something else.

imagine Your life if you…

Eliminate triggers

✓

Have healthier relationships

✓

Improve your mental and physical health

✓

Break out of frustrating patterns in your life

✓

Change how you think and feel

✓

yOUR FUTURE IS WAITING.

Find freedom from the pain of the past.

faqs

Common questions about EMDR

  • Absolutely! EMDR can be just as effective online as it is in person. All you need is a private space and a good internet connection.

  • In a word, yes.

    In more detail… EMDR has been practiced since 1987, and has decades of research supporting its efficacy. It is considered an excellent method of treatment for a wide variety of challenges, including trauma and much more.

    There is no single therapy that is right for every person, though. If you have concerns about if EMDR is right for you, schedule a consultation to speak with our director.

  • There’s no way of knowing for certain. Some of the factors that influence the number of sessions include: frequency of sessions, length of sessions, your trauma history, whether or not you have done therapy before, current stressors in your life, your goals, and more.
    Some people resolve what they hoped to resolve with a few hours of EMDR. Some people continue with EMDR for a year or more. Your therapist will be in ongoing communication with you, however, about your progress and how you are feeling about therapy.

  • Yes! Research supports that EMDR can help people with many things. EMDR helps with depression, anxiety, addiction, eating disorders, OCD, chronic pain, and much, much more. Schedule a consultation if you have questions regarding whether or not EMDR can help with your specific concern.

Ready to get started?

You are worth investing in.