Understanding EMDR therapy

What is EMDR therapy?

EMDR is a highly effective therapy that helps people to process wounds from the past so they no longer affect their present and future.

Sometimes things happen to us in life that can feel distressing, traumatic, overwhelming, and out of our control. At these times, the parts of our brain that we need to make sense of things and store them properly in our memory networks go 'offline' and we become focused on survival. Our threat system kicks in!

These experiences can stay stuck in this form in our memory networks, causing disturbance in the present in our thoughts, emotions, and body sensations. EMDR uses eye movements to revisit and process these experiences adaptively, in order that the brain can move on from the experience and return to its inherent adaptive functioning.

EMDR helps to process painful experiences so they become part of the past instead of feeling like they are in the present.

What to expect during an EMDR session

We will start with an assessment of your current struggles, resources, goals for the future, and history & background. We will get to know each other and build some therapeutic resources in order to create a safe foundation for processing experiences that have affected you. Next, we will agree on a treatment plan targeted at resolving your current distress as quickly as possible, then work through each target memory or experience together safely until you experience a reduction in your current distress. Typically, a treatment plan involves processing relevant past experiences, present triggers, and future fears. I will talk you through each step of the process and answer any questions or concerns you may have at each step.