EMDR is short for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. EMDR therapy involves brief exposure to a difficult memory and simultaneous bilateral (two-sided) stimulation in the form of eye movements, sounds, or hand-held tappers. This therapy has been demonstrated in research studies to enhance our natural ability to recover from traumatic events.

Common signs of trauma include bothersome thoughts and images, feeling numb, anger, always being on guard, as well as substance abuse, depression, anxiety, and panic.  It focuses on identifying the negative beliefs that we associate with traumatic events and then helping to work through the negative effects of trauma. While everyone’s situation is different, EMDR therapy can often reduce therapy time dramatically.

EMDR therapy can be useful for:

 •  Disturbing one-time events

 •  Physical abuse

 •  Substance abuse

 •  Sexual assault and molestation

In an EMDR therapy session, we start with a current issue and work to resolve it by addressing old memories. The EMDR therapy work is interspersed with talk therapy and may involve a period of preparation prior to the memory work. EMDR is a useful therapy for resolving negative self-beliefs. Because it is not exclusively “talk therapy,” EMDR therapy lets you work on past difficult experiences without verbally revisiting every detail. It is not the right tool for everyone and every problem, but it is a powerful therapy for many people.