EMDR Therapy: Effective Results As Quickly As Possible
Do you feel stuck in your life, unable to move beyond a difficult experience? Or you’ve achieved some symptom reduction in traditional therapy and are now ready to do some next-level healing? EMDR is a powerful and transforming treatment to relieve intense symptoms and suffering so you can finally heal and move forward in your life. You can also keep your therapist and do EMDR as an adjunct healing modality.
EMDR seems strange and confusing, why is that?
It’s okay to not fully understand this remarkable therapy because even experts don’t fully understand the magic behind EMDR Treatment, or the neurobiological changes that accompany any healing therapy modality for that matter. It is a procedure with protocol and steps that need to be followed to ensure efficacy. Moving your eyes or tapping seems a bit strange, but once you begin your EMDR treatment, this will all make much more sense. EMDR is often described as a “new” therapy. It is not a new therapy and has actually been around for about thirty years. I’ve been practicing EMDR for a very long time now and I continue to be wowed by this modality, especially when other forms of treatment are woven into EMDR sessions.
Will I have to relive my bad memories for EMDR to be successful?
You may be wondering if you will have to relive your traumatic experience in order to be helped by EMDR therapy? EMDR does not require talking about painful memories which makes it different from traditional talk therapy. One of the benefits of EMDR is that you do not need to share all the details of a painful trauma, nor do you need to rehash every part of your trauma, just a enough details in order to help you reprocess.
EMDR helps a range of emotional concerns and suffering
EMDR Therapy or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is a highly-successful and powerful healing technique that very effectively helps people who suffer from anxiety, panic, chronic sadness, negative self-concepts, trauma, disturbing memories and thoughts, PTSD or post traumatic stress and many other emotional problems. Until recently, psychotherapists and psychologists have used some combination of talk therapy and CBT in their efforts to help people overcome distress and suffering. While nothing beats the support of another human who is able to listen and be fully present during suffering, many of these traditional talk therapy techniques do not resolve client symptoms or support healing at the level of the nervous system in the way that EMDR does. EMDR is considered a breakthrough therapy because of its ability to bring quick and lasting relief for a range of emotional disturbances and distress.
How does EMDR actually work and is it just moving your eyes back and forth?
It’s often compared to hypnosis because many clinicians use back and forth eye movements while following the therapists fingers. EMDR therapy uses bilateral stimulation, that’s the alternating right-left-right eye movements, or a beeping sound, a light machine, or tactile stimulation (tapping on knees or butterfly tap) which alternately activates the hemispheres of the brain. Yes, this is very similar to REM sleep which we know is our natural way of processing experiences when we sleep. It is believed that because of the way our brain experiences trauma, feelings, sensations, memories and emotions are processed and stored in fragmented ways, leading to symptoms and suffering. EMDR allows the troubling images, feelings, memories, physical sensations and self-concepts to be targeted and processed by the brain and nervous system using this back and forth bilateral eye movement patterns. It is believed that the trapped experiences are lifted and re-integrated in a manner that is cohesive and adaptive, leading to resolution of the issues and a more peaceful state are achieved. Memories or feeling-states are not removed, but rather the distressing impact is decreased so you are able to move forward with your life and enjoy a dramatic reduction of symptoms. You remember it without reliving it. As an example, a memory or event that felt like a 9 may be reduced to a 2 using the suds scale. As the distress around an event or memory is reduced, so is the nervous system activation that keeps the sufferer in a perpetual state of fight, flight or freeze. As emotional experiences are released, the neurophysiological system or mind-body connection is able to heal and reconnect to a safe state of restoration.
Is EMDR safe and effective?
Extensive scientific research studies have demonstrated that EMDR is an effective and rapid method for processing disturbing memories and healing PTSD and other psychological symptoms. In 2010, SAMHSA, a National Registry of Evidence-based practices (NREPP) endorsed EMDR as has the American Psychiatric Association in the treatment of Acute Stress Disorder and Post traumatic Stress Disorder. EMDR is considered an evidence-based treatment modality. EMDR is a safe and effective therapy technique if practiced by an EMDR trained therapist. A skilled therapist will ensure that their client is “resourced” and feeling safe prior to processing, which will help their client prepare for reprocessing. EMDR treatment is recommended and approved by professional organizations including The American Psychological Association, The World Health Organization, The U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, The American Psychiatric Association and others.
Will I have side effects during and after EMDR sessions? You may experience some discomfort but your therapist should provide you with some coping strategies should this occur…
Discomfort during and after sessions (including, anger, tension, tearfulness, anxiety, sadness, as examples)
Tiredness and fatigue, sometimes lasting the week between sessions
Feeling more emotionally vulnerable or sensitive
Changes in dream experiences
Remembering additional memories or experiences between sessions or continuing to process material
Getting started with EMDR therapy
As a trauma therapist with a private practice in New York City, EMDR remains my favorite modality because my patients love it, and it is so very effective and versatile. We can often accomplish in a short amount of time what would have taken years in traditional talk therapy. If you are interested in healing trauma or achieving a healthier self concept, have a look around at the many helpful EMDR resources, including EMDRIA and EMDR. In the interest of getting on with your life, you may be interested in intensive therapy which is an alternative to once a week therapy that is just as effective and produces positive results in less time than traditional therapy.
Common conditions that EMDR Therapy effectively treats:
Anxiety
Panic attacks
Phobias, ranging from severe to moderate (like fear of public speaking or trips to the dentist)
Low self-esteem
Trust issues
Dissociative disorders
Chronic illnesses
Distressing medical issues or medical trauma
Depression
Dissociative disorders
Eating disorders
Grief or loss of a loved one
Pain
Performance anxiety
Stage fright
Personality disorders
Sexual or physical assault
Past abuse
Bullying
combat trauma
Sleep disturbances
Substance abuse and addiction
Low back pain
Codependency
Relationship patterns
Natural disasters
Work accident
Injury to loved one
Insomnia
About Holistic Psychotherapy & Wellness Manhattan
Kimberly Seelbrede, LCSW is a New York State licensed Psychotherapist, EMDR Practitioner and Couple Therapist with a private practice in New York City, Montana and virtually. As a wellness psychotherapist and holistic consultant, she has receive advanced, extensive training in Trauma Therapy, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Somatic Experiencing (SE), and Nutrition & Integrative Medicine For Mental Health. She is passionate about honoring the exquisite interplay of the mind-body connection. Kimberly Seelbrede specializes in anxiety & mood disorders, trauma and women’s mental health. She brings over 20 years of counseling, coaching, and healing experience to her holistic practice and transformational work.
In addition to online therapy for anxiety, depression, trauma and relationship struggles, Holistic Psychotherapy & Wellness offers a wide variety of online services to fit the needs of busy professionals. New Yorkers often lead fast-paced and complex lives, which makes work-life balance and managing career, family and social obligations a challenge. Psychotherapy and wellness practices provides the support to help clients cultivate resources, resilience and enhanced emotional health, as well as uncover conflicts and obstacles that may interfere with having the life they desire.