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Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

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Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, focuses on the memories we have that were stored incorrectly and therefore continue to disturb us, even if we’ve reasoned them out. These memories get stored in the emotional part of our brain, so accessing them leaves us feeling as if we are still experiencing them, and all the same hurt comes back. 

EMDR allows the brain to tap into these feeling memories and conjoin them with more logical reasoning so that we can heal them. We don’t lose the memories, but we lose the emotional grip they have on us. 

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EMDR is an effective treatment for all ages.  Even small children can get “stuck” in trauma experienced early in life that the brain stores and they are unable to connect.

EMDR can help with . . .

  • High anxiety and lack of motivation

  • Depression

  • Memories of a traumatic experience

  • Fear of being alone

  • Unrealistic feelings of guilt and shame

  • PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)

  • Difficulty in trusting others

  • Relationship problems

  • Witnesses or victims of disaster

  • Panic disorders and anxiety attacks

  • Phobias

  • Addiction

  • Grief and/or loss

  • Crime victims 

  • First responders

  • Accident or burn victims

EMDR is similar to that of REM sleep, when our eyes move as we sleep, our brain is able to process the information we have collected through the day. In an EMDR session, your eyes are guided with hand movements or tappers, back and forth at a good pace. While the movement is happening, you may experience different memories, thoughts about the memories, feelings may come up and they may sometimes be intense. Through this process, you will be guided and supported. By the end of the process, your memory, and thoughts about the memory will be different. It won’t hold the same feelings for you anymore, and you may see yourself, and indeed your life, in a new way. 

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EMDR is a powerful with children as well, helping them move past fears and behaviors triggered by past events. It is done through play and can help move children through tough times with less stigmatizing affects. The children continue to work through therapy in play, with the EMDR allowing the brain to work out their feelings much faster.

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