EMDR Therapy — A Good Place

EMDR Therapy

Heal from trauma and regain your life.

About EMDR Therapy

EMDR, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is an evidence-based psychotherapy that treats and heals the symptoms and emotional distress caused by disturbing or traumatic experiences. Unlike other forms of therapy that focus on “top-down processing” or changing your thinking patterns through insight, awareness, and coping skills, EMDR takes a “bottom-up” approach by addressing the somatic, emotional roots of the presenting problem. If we think of traumatic memories like wounds that never quite healed, EMDR allows us to treat the injury so it can heal and integrate with the rest of your brain. EMDR was developed in 1987 by Dr. Francine Shapiro to treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and has since been proven effective for treating a variety of other mental health conditions.

How EMDR Works & What to Expect:

One of the brain’s core functions is processing and storing memories. When a person experiences something traumatic or overwhelming, sometimes these distressing memories are not adequately processed and stored, which can lead to high levels of distress when the memory is triggered. In other words, the mind and body can get blocked or stuck as a result of the trauma, and when a person experiences reminders or similar experiences, the associated physical sensations, emotions, beliefs, thoughts, and fears get reinforced and activated.

Through a combination of bilateral stimulation (stimulating the left and right sides of the brain using eye movements, tapping, hand buzzers, or sounds) and recalling the specific memories, EMDR allows us to reprocess these disturbing memories so that the brain stores them more adaptively. This also helps develop new, more supportive thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and behaviors to improve your mental health going forward. EMDR Therapy occurs in 8 phases, and your therapist will work with you to develop a plan for what memories you want to reprocess, build up a toolbox of coping strategies to address the associated emotions, and target each of the memories you have identified.