What is EMDR?

During EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) we identify a traumatic memory and a negative belief associated with the trauma, such as I don’t fit in, I am responsible for everything, I am unimportant – and reprocess this memory using back and forth stimulation either with tapping or eye movement that mimics REM sleep. This allows one to open, re-process, and put away traumatic memories and they become less intense. Rather than getting triggered and having strong emotional reactions they become memories that are over and done. With these new adaptive beliefs, such as I am good enough, I am lovable, etc. we now can move forward in life

Who can perform EMDR therapy?

EMDRIA is an organization that regulates the training of Mental Health Professionals who can get training to perform EMDR therapy. These professionals must have a master’s degree or Doctorate in a Mental Health Field such as Psychology, Marriage and Family therapy, Social Work – LCSW, or Psychiatry, and they must be licensed in the states where they are performing the services. Your average person cannot enroll in EMDR classes and get certified. Mental health is a sensitive area and therefore Mental Health Professionals have strong guidelines to follow to ensure that clients feel safe and can be vulnerable. Some of these guidelines are confidentiality agreements – this means they are not able to share with others what is disclosed in the session. The benefit of private pay is that information, such as a diagnosis doesn’t have to be shared with insurance companies for billing purposes. So, no record of it is shared and therefore it will not affect life insurance premiums or jobs that might require a clean record in Mental Health.

What makes for a good candidate for EMDR?

A candidate who has

·        A stable environment

·        Ability to shift states and self-regulate. The client has or will learn coping skills to regulate their emotions.

·        No active addiction or person is high functioning – addiction will decrease the effectiveness of the treatment.

·        If there are medical issues the therapist might decide to use tapping instead of eye movement or after assessment let you know  if this is a treatment option for you.

·        Some medications such as Benzodiazepine may reduce treatment effectiveness.

·        If you are part of a legal proceeding, it is important for you to know that the vividness and emotions of the memories may change. For example, emotions tend to decrease associated with the triggered trauma or stressor.

If you would like to learn more here is a link to a great resource that explains more information on EMDR:

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/22641-emdr-therapy

https://www.emdria.org/about-emdr-therapy/

‍

‍