We offer EMDR or Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing at our Jupiter counseling office.
EMDR or Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing is a therapeutic modality that promotes healing from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences.
Research studies have shown that EMDR therapy offers people great benefits much faster than traditional talk therapies. This modality uses bilateral stimulation while processing difficult events, emotions and beliefs, allowing the mind and body to heal and restore to an improved state of well-being.
Many of our Jupiter Therapists are trained in EMDR, including Dr. Ann Marie Semich, Jessica O’Shea, Liz Solomon, Chris Siggins, Shirly Gilbert and Dr. Nancy Smith.
What Is an EMDR Therapy?
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR) helps our clients work through trauma and disturbing memories alongside the other issues they wish to overcome. This psychotherapy was developed in the 1980s to treat people who had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is an anxiety disorder characterized by distressing memories, flashbacks, or stimuli that makes people relive the trauma they wish to forget. With the help of an EMDR therapy program, however, we can address the trauma and help you take the next step into life.
What Happens During an EMDR Therapy Session?
During an EMDR therapy program session, the therapist works with the person as they revisit a memory of a negative encounter. The therapist guides the person as they reprocess the memory for short periods that can last as little as 30 seconds.
During that time, the therapist may wave a finger or two back and forth and ask you to follow the movement with your eyes. Conversely, the therapist may use tapping movements, vibrations, or tones in one ear on different sides of the body. The stimuli that occur as you remember the trauma help the client reframe their thoughts and emotions about the distressing memory.
People of all ages and backgrounds have found EMDR helpful in reducing stress and anxiety and boosting overall health and well-being.
How Is an EMDR Therapy Program Different from Other Therapeutic
Methods?
Once EMDR therapy is different from other trauma-focused psychotherapies in that it focuses on challenging memories and changes how the brain stores that particular memory. Other treatments focus on changing the emotions, thoughts, and responses resulting from traumatic experiences. EMDR also does not require guests to have extended exposure to the upsetting
memory or detailed descriptions of the trauma experienced.
The goal of EMDR therapy is to help desensitize a person to any memories that can cause anxiety, panic, or stress. This therapy lets the brain’s information processing system create new internal associations as you focus on the thoughts, feelings, memories, and other associations that you may be feeling during the treatment.
At Jupiter Community Counseling, we realize that when you’re battling trauma and other mental health issues, you may feel like you can’t escape. Fortunately, that is not true. We can give you the care and support you need to break free from these debilitating conditions.
You don’t have to be trapped by your trauma. With the help of our EMDR therapy program, you can blossom into the person you’ve always wanted to be.