Frequently Asked Questions

• How does EMDR differ from traditional talk therapy?

  There is no doubt that standard talk therapy can be of great benefit to people. However, despite research based treatment some people find themselves still suffering from ingrained triggers related to trauma.  EMDR comes at the problem of psychological issues in such as way that makes it more effective at addressing it at the deepest level.  It addresses the root cause of trauma rather than symptoms.  Consequently, it can provide a more fundamental form of healing from trauma and can often do so more rapidly.

• What is EMDR therapy?

  Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy that promotes healing from the symptoms and emotional distress resulting from disturbing life experiences.   During EMDR, clients are encouraged to briefly recall a distressful occurrence while participating in bilateral stimulation.  This is a set of eye movements, hand tapping or listening to a faint beeping sound for the purpose of engaging brain activity.  While focusing on the past and engaging in the present, traumatic memories are reprocessed in a way that lessens emotional distress and symptoms associated with those memories.

• How does EMDR therapy work?

  When trauma occurs, our response is to fight, flight or freeze.  This state is meant to be only temporary.  However, sometimes it stays activated promoting a sense of danger and a host of other symptoms associated with trauma in the person it affects.  EMDR therapy helps the brain reprocess these memories, and allows normal healing to resume. The traumatic experience is still remembered, but the fight, flight, or freeze response from the original event is addressed thereby reducing or eliminating the problematic symptoms associated with it. 

   

• Who can benefit from EMDR therapy?

  Originally developed to treat people suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, ongoing research shows that EMDR is also a helpful treatment for disorders such as anxiety, depression, OCD, chronic pain, addictions, and other distressing life experiences (Maxfield, 2019).

• How effective is EMDR therapy?

  More than 30 controlled studies have been done on EMDR therapy, including some studies showing that 84%–94% of single-trauma victims no longer have PTSD after three 90-minute sessions.  According to a study by EMDR therapy has even been superior to Prozac in trauma treatment (Van der Kolk et al., 2007). It has been endorsed as an effective therapy by numerous organizations, including:

  • American Psychiatric Association
  • American Psychological Association
  • International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS)
  • National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
  • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
  • Department of Veterans Affairs/Department of Defense
  • Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
  • World Health Organization (WHO)

• What can I expect in EMDR therapy?

  EMDR is carried out in eight phases that typically unfold over 12 sessions.  Initial sessions are dedicated to gathering history, building coping skills and prepping the client for participation in treatment.  EMDR therapy does not require the client to talk as extensively about the details of their traumatic experience as compare to some therapeutic approaches and generally takes fewer session for results to show as compared to other techniques. It can be used as the primary treatment approach in sessions are in adjunct to other research based techniques.  Your treatment plan will be based on your individual therapy needs and goals.