Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

is a type of therapy that engages the brain to facilitate the natural healing process.  

It is a structured, 8-phase therapy that incorporates assessment, treatment planning, resourcing (skills to enhance relaxation, emotional tolerance, and being grounded), as well as processing difficult experiences.

So what does all that mean you might ask?

In plain terms, EMDR is aimed at helping people in recovering from a traumatic event. After any traumatic event the images, thoughts and emotions can and do stick with you.  Our minds and bodies are built to let us SURVIVE trauma, but the after effects can create 'overwhelm,' or a feeling that you are back in that moment where you may feel "frozen in time," even years removed from the trauma itself.  Using a variety of billateral stimulation (eye movements, tapping etc.) EMDR allows natural healing to occur. It effectively helps your brain to reconnect the dots of a neural network so that it recognizes an event is in the past rather than still occuring in the present.

Imagine...

A file cabinet jam packed with files from years and years of life.  When you open that file cabinet all those files fly out and are swirling around.  Nothing is in order.  Nothing makes sense.  EMDR puts each of those files back where they should be in a planful, safe and intentional way.

So How Do You Know if EMDR is Right for You?