What is EMDR Therapy?
Miley Cyrus, Prince Harry and Sandra Bullock all have one thing in common. They each have used EMDR therapy to help them heal from different situations.
EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy, is a powerful approach that has gained popularity in the past few years regarding its effectiveness in reducing anxiety and other mental health struggles.
At Broward Therapists, our team has seen the first-hand, positive impact that EMDR therapy has on our clients, allowing them to experience real, lasting change in their lives—an approach that may be the right fit for you.
What is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR therapy is an evidence-based approach that helps you reprocess painful, traumatic or distressing memories in a new way that removes the power of those emotions.
EMDR does this by incorporating eye movements while clients focus on a specific memory that causes them pain. The eye movements used during the session are specific in a way that helps engage both sides of the brain, allowing you to reprocess the memory, taking away the pain and trauma.
Many believe that EMDR replicates REM sleep because of the eye movement patterns. REM sleep is when the brain processes emotional situations. By recreating REM sleep and reprocessing the memory, you’ll be able to work through difficult emotions, making the memory more manageable in the process.
How does EMDR Therapy work?
EMDR works by tapping into the brain. When you experience a traumatic or distressing situation, sometimes your brain can’t process what happened, essentially leaving you frozen in the memory. Being stuck with a memory like this can cause anxiety, depression and other mental struggles.
In simple terms, EMDR unfreezes the memory in your brain through those rhythmic eye movements, providing a reduction in mental health struggles.
What happens during EMDR Therapy?
EMDR therapy follows an eight-step process to help clients work through their memories. This process includes: client history, preparation, assessment, desensitization, installation, body scan, closure and reevaluation.
The actual reprocessing of your memory in a more positive way happens during desensitization, installation and body scanning. This is when a trained Broward Therapist will use the rhythmic eye movement in order to help reprocess the memories.
How is EMDR Therapy different?
One of the biggest differences between EMDR therapy and traditional talk therapies, like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or Motivational Interviewing, is that during EMDR, you don’t have to talk about the distressing situation you are envisioning. Rather, you’ll do just that—envision the situation and hold it in your mind.
Further, EMDR is typically a faster form of therapy, with some clients seeing results in as few as two to three sessions. Research shows EMDR also has a ripple effect when you’re reprocessing. That means you will target underlying and subconscious emotions causing you stress and anxiety, allowing you to see positive impacts in other areas of your life.
EMDR Therapy at Broward Therapists
At Broward Therapists, our highly trained counselors can use EMDR therapy to help you move through difficult situations that still impact you, allowing you to feel empowered and thrive. If you think that EMDR’s unique approach is the right therapeutic fit for you, our licensed therapists can help you begin in a safe, supportive environment.