EMDR THERAPY
EMDR THERAPY
EMDR Therapy is a unique approach that helps individuals process and integrate traumatic memories. It involves focusing briefly on the trauma memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation, typically eye movements, which is associated with a reduction in the vividness and emotions associated with the trauma memories.
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EMDR therapy helps children and adults of all ages. While EMDR is widely recognised for its effectiveness in treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, it has also proven successful in addressing various mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, phobias, panic attacks, OCD, bipolar disorder, personality disorders, addictions, chronic pain, dissociative disorders, trust issues, anger, sleep problems, complicated grief, low self-esteem and more.
The Brain & Traumatic Memories
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The brain stores normal and traumatic memories differently. During normal events, your brain stores memories smoothly. It also networks them, so they connect to other things you remember. During disturbing or upsetting events, that networking does not happen correctly. The brain can go “offline” and there is a disconnect between what you experience (feel, hear, see) and what your brain stores in memory through language.
Often, your brain stores trauma memories in a way that does not allow for healthy healing. Trauma is like a wound that your brain has not been allowed to heal. Because it did not have the chance to heal, your brain did not receive the message that the danger is over. Newer experiences can link up to earlier trauma experiences and reinforce a negative experience over and over again. That disrupts the links between your senses and memories. It also acts as an injury to your mind. And just like your body is sensitive to pain from an injury, your mind has a higher sensitivity to things you saw, heard, smelled or felt during a trauma-related event.
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This happens not only with events you can remember, but also with suppressed memories. Much like how you learn not to touch a hot stove because it burns your hand, your mind tries to suppress memories to avoid accessing them because they are painful or upsetting. However, the suppression is not perfect, meaning the “injury” can still cause negative symptoms, emotions and behaviours.
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Reprocess & Repair
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When you undergo EMDR, you access memories of a trauma event in very specific ways. Combined with eye movements and guided instructions, accessing those memories helps you reprocess what you remember from the negative event. That reprocessing helps “repair” the mental injury from that memory. Remembering what happened to you will no longer feel like reliving it, and the related feelings will be much more manageable.
How is EMDR Therapy different from other therapies?
EMDR therapy does not require talking in detail about the distressing issue or completing homework between sessions. EMDR therapy, rather than focusing on changing the emotions, thoughts, or behaviours resulting from the distressing issue, allows the brain to resume its natural healing process. EMDR therapy is designed to resolve unprocessed traumatic memories in the brain. For many individuals, EMDR therapy can be completed in fewer sessions than other psychotherapies.
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