EDMR, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, has become a leading treatment for trauma with an 80-90% success rate in the treatment of PTSD. Experiencing a traumatic event can get stuck in our brain. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (eye movements, sounds or tapping) that directly affect your brain, soothing and calming the nervous system, to release trapped experiences and do its own healing. While EMDR is most known as a trauma therapy, it’s expanding as a treatment for many mental health problems.

EDMR Therapy is provided at KCCMH with Behavioral Health Provider Krista Davis, LCSW who has completed an EMDRIA approved training and is working towards certification with EMDRIA approved consultants.

Who can  benefit from  EDMR Therapy?

Anyone who has gone through an emotionally painful experience that they have not recovered from may benefit from EDMR Therapy. Symptoms include feeling “stuck”, excess stress, depression, anxiety, restlessness, sleep trouble, fatigue, appetite disturbances, and ongoing physical health concerns. In the more severe cases you may be experiencing  flashbacks, nightmares, panic attacks, obsessions, compulsions, eating disorder and suicidal tendencies.

How does EMDR Therapy work?

When you go through a painful experience, it can live in the nervous system with an intense memory of the picture, sounds, thoughts, feelings, and body sensations. This is stored in the brain and body and continues to get triggered repeatedly causing you to feel “stuck” emotionally. In another part of your brain is most of the information you need to get through this painful memory, however, it’s being blocked from connecting. EMDR therapy uses bilateral stimulation to link the two parts of the brain networks so that new information can come to mind to work through the painful memories.

How effective is EMDR Therapy?

Compared to other methods of therapy, EMDR has been rated as very effective, with accelerated improvements, by mental health professionals and patients.

What is EMDR like?

For a single traumatic event, the process usually takes between three and six sessions. More complex or longer-term traumas may take eight to 12 sessions. Sessions typically last between an hour to 90 minutes.

EMDR therapy uses a structured eight-phase approach that includes:

Phase 1: History & Treatment Planning
Phase 2: Preparation
Phase 3: Assessing the Target Memory
Phase 4: Desensitization; bilateral stimulation
Phase 5: Installation; strengthen positive belief to associate with the target event
Phase 6: Body Scan; process any lingering disturbance from the body
Phase 7: Closure; reprocessing of the event is complete when client can return to a state of calm in the present moment
Phase 8: Revaluation

Some examples of bilateral stimulation techniques used in therapy include:

Eye movements
Walking/running
Tapping/patting
Drumming
Rocking/swaying
Audio Tones

Ready to learn more about healing with EMDR Therapy? Call Parke Health at 719-346-9481 or Stratton Medical Clinic at 719-346-4650.