What is EMDR? 

EMDR is a highly effective, evidence-based treatment for people with PTSD and other forms of emotional distress caused by disturbing life experiences. Memories are made up of many images and feelings associated with those images. EMDR helps your brain naturally reprocess traumatic memories so you experience them in a different, less distressing way. This can help bring relief from intense emotions and decrease your reactivity to triggers. Many studies show that EMDR can help people more quickly experience the benefits of traditional psychotherapy that once took years to achieve. 

 

Research shows that EMDR is effective in treating PTSD across a variety of populations and types of traumas. EMDR has worked well for people who have experienced combat, rape, sexual assault, childhood abuse, acts of violence, natural disasters, and other types of traumas. It is effective whether you have experienced a single traumatic event, many traumatic events, or prolonged abuse. EMDR is effective for recent traumas and traumas that occurred many years ago.

 

How can EMDR help?

 

When trauma occurs, your natural ability to cope can become overwhelmed, resulting in disturbing memories becoming frozen (or “unprocessed”) in your brain. Because they aren’t properly stored, these unprocessed memories can continue to affect you in the present with symptoms such as nightmares, flashbacks, and feelings like anxiety, panic, anger, or despair. These unprocessed memories are stored in such a way that your brain cannot tell the difference between the past and present. So, when something reminds you of the trauma, your body reacts as if it’s happening again right now. As a result, your ability to be fully present and learn from new experiences can be inhibited. 

 

EMDR helps you naturally reprocess these frozen memories so they become stored adaptively in the brain. When these memories are properly reprocessed and stored, you should be able to remember them without experiencing intense emotions or distress. EMDR cannot change what happened to you in the past, but it can change how you feel about it so that your past no longer distresses and overwhelms you.  

 

What can I expect during EMDR treatment? 

 

EMDR taps into your body’s natural ability to heal itself. As with all therapy, EMDR treatment begins with a thorough clinical assessment and the development of a treatment plan. 

 

During EMDR treatment:  

 

• You will learn about the physical and emotional reactions to trauma and discuss your readiness to focus on your traumatic memories in therapy. 

• You will learn coping and self-calming skills. 

• You will reprocess disturbing memories. You will be asked to briefly focus on a disturbing memory (the “target”) while also paying attention to a back-and-forth movement or sound until your distress goes down. These back-and-forth movements are called bilateral stimulation or BLS. BLS can take several forms, including following a moving object with your eyes, hearing alternating tones in one ear at a time, or holding “tappers” in your hands that alternative vibrating in one hand and then the other. 

• We will repeat reprocessing for as many targets as necessary. Note that some targets may take more than one session to fully process. 

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Many clients opt to alternate EMDR processing sessions with traditional talk therapy or Internal Family Systems (IFS or "parts work") sessions. We will work together to find the balance that works best for you. 

 Will I have to talk about my trauma in detail? 

 

You will not have to describe all of the details of your traumatic experiences, but you will be asked to focus on your traumatic memories during EMDR processing.  

 

Early on in treatment, we will also have a discussion to identify the traumatic or disturbing memories we want to target with EMDR. While you may be asked to briefly identify your traumatic experiences, you will not be required to discuss them in detail. 

 

What if I have multiple traumas or “complex” PTSD? 

 

EMDR is very effective for people who have experienced multiple traumas or prolonged abuse. 

 

What if I don’t have PTSD?

 

EMDR may still be able to help. EMDR was originally developed as a treatment for PTSD and remains one of the most effective treatments for people who have experienced trauma. Today, EMDR is also used to treat a variety of other mental health concerns, including: 

 

• Anxiety

• Grief

• Panic Disorders

• Phobias

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

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If you are interested in EMDR therapy for one of the above concerns, contact me today to discuss. I would be happy to help you. 

 

Will I have to do homework? 

 

No. Many clients find that they use the coping and calming skills learned in EMDR outside of session, but there are no worksheets or written homework assignments between sessions. 

 

How long does treatment last? 

 

There is no set treatment length for EMDR, and many variables can affect how long your EMDR therapy will last. However, research has shown that EMDR can help people experience benefits that would otherwise take many years to gain through traditional psychotherapy. This makes it a cost-effective form of treatment for many people. Throughout the course of treatment, we will meet at least once weekly for 50 to 90 minutes. Some clients opt to participate in EMDR intensives, which consist of longer and/or more frequent sessions. Many clients prefer to alternate EMDR processing sessions with traditional talk therapy sessions to process their experiences. We will work together to determine what schedule works best for you. 

 

Depending on individual needs and the frequency of therapy sessions, full treatment can take 2-6 months or longer. However, many people start to notice improvements after just a few sessions. 

 

EMDR is an individual therapy, and you will meet one-on-one with your therapist for every session. 

 

Can I do EMDR therapy online?

 

Yes! EMDR is effective whether it is delivered in person or through online telehealth sessions. I offer virtual EMDR therapy to people throughout North Carolina using our secure video chat platform. I also offer a limited number of in-person sessions in my North Raleigh office. 

 

Will I be able to handle EMDR? 

 

Focusing on your trauma-related memories may be uncomfortable. However, these feelings are usually brief, and people tend to feel better as they continue doing EMDR. The goal of EMDR processing is to reduce the distress associated with those memories, so people who complete EMDR treatment often find the long-term benefit outweighs the short-term discomfort. We can discuss all of your treatment options at the start of therapy to find the best treatment for you. If EMDR is not right for you, we offer several other evidence-based treatments that might be a better fit, including Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure (PE), and Couples Therapy for PTSD (CBCT).

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Are you ready to get on the path to recovery and discover which treatment is right for you?