“The past affects the present even without our being aware of it.”
Francine Shapiro
EMDR
Clients often find themselves frustrated with the gap between their rational minds and their emotional responses, noticing a conflict and contradiction between the two. People might also know they are having an outsized emotional reaction to an event but may not fully comprehend or understand why or where this outsized reaction stems from or how to change it. EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing, utilizes bidirectional stimulation and with that, a whole-brain approach, to reprocess triggering memories, past or present.
Clients sometimes approach EMDR with a healthy dose of skepticism when they first begin but often report on its “wild, meditative and sometimes dream-like” processes. It is a tool that has the capacity to expedite “breakthroughs” and “a-ha” moments and can produce change in consciousness and actions, at times, more dramatically and quickly than talk therapy alone.
EMDR is best utilized with clients to treat:
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Past and Present Trauma (sexual abuse, neglect, emotional and physical abuse, and random
traumatizing events in life). -
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
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Anxiety, including Panic Attacks
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Depression
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Grief
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Accepting Role Transitions
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Addressing Ambivalence
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Enhancing overall Self-Esteem and Self-Worth
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Postpartum Depression and Anxiety
