Mental Health Therapy – Is EMDR Therapy Right for You?
– Laken Ginn, LPCC, HealthPoint Family Care Mental Health Counselor
What is EMDR?
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a specific approach to therapy that can be helpful to reduce distress individuals are experiencing. An EMDR informed approach believes that individuals are struggling due to past negative events they have experienced. These past events can leave us with emotional baggage, and result in us having negative thoughts or beliefs about ourselves. We will work together to help you live a more emotionally healthy life, free of emotional baggage.
Who can benefit from EMDR?
If you have experienced any of the following, you may benefit from EMDR:
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Panic Attacks
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Shame or Guilt
- Relationship Problems
- And More
A well trained EMDR therapist can modify their approach to work with children, teenagers, or adults. Our EMDR trained therapist works with individuals ages 5 and older.
What can I expect if I start EMDR treatment?
Within the first two to three sessions, we will work together to create a treatment plan that will identify past memories that may be impacting your current emotions. We will also explore and discuss any symptoms you are currently experiencing that you would like to address in therapy.
Next, we will learn and practice emotional regulation skills and help you feel more confident in your ability to tolerate distress. This is an important step to help you feel ready and prepared to process the negative memories you have experienced.
Finally, we will work together to reprocess past painful memories. You will be asked to recall and focus on a negative memory that you have experienced. While thinking of the memory, the therapist will guide you to complete certain eye movements. Research has shown that when individuals have dual awareness (focus on the memory and the eye movements at the same time) they report a reduction in their distress associated with the negative memory.
We will work together to process your past negative memories and any negative beliefs you have about yourself. After processing the selected past negative memories, we will work towards helping you plan and feel confident in your ability to handle any future situations you may encounter.
Depending on the number of past memories we decide to reprocess, and current symptoms, EMDR therapy can take anywhere from 12-30 sessions. At HealthPoint Family Care therapy sessions are typically 45 minutes long. Based on client preference, sessions are schedule once per week, or twice per month.
Where can I learn more about EMDR therapy?
The EMDR International Association is a membership organization that promotes the highest standards of excellence and integrity in EMDR treatment and training. It is a great starting point for learning more about EMDR. https://www.emdria.org/about-emdria/
HealthPoint Family Care offers EMDR therapy. www.healthpointfc.org
Call to schedule an appointment 859-655-6100
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