In-person in Fredericksburg and On-line in Virginia
EMDR Therapy
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing:
A Breakthrough Treatment
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a powerful therapy used to treat trauma and its associated symptoms. It is a breakthrough treatment that has been proven to be highly effective in helping people process traumatic memories and experiences, as well as reduce or eliminate the distress and other negative emotions associated with them. EMDR has been used to successfully treat a wide range of trauma, including PTSD, anxiety, depression, and phobias.
What is EMDR?
EMDR is a therapeutic approach that stimulates the right and left sides of the brain in order to process maladaptively stored memories that are emotionally painful so that these experiences resolve in an adaptive way so you can experience them less powerfully in your day to day life. The idea behind EMDR is that negative emotions can become trapped in the brain, causing distress and impairing our ability to function normally. Through eye movement or "bilateral stimulation," EMDR helps to access and process these emotions, so you can create new patterns of feeling, thinking and behaving.
During an EMDR session, our therapists will guide you through a series of eye movements or other types of bilateral stimulation while you focus on a particular memory, image, feeling, thought or body sensation. The therapist will ask you to pay attention to what comes to mind, often by saying "notice that" like watching scenery pass by outside a train window. This process helps to rewire the patient’s brain and break down the old, damaging patterns of thought associated with painful events.
Furthermore, EMDR can also provide trauma survivors with closure by allowing them to review their memories from a safe distance, free from fear and guilt. As trauma survivors work through their memories using EMDR, they can begin to move away from feelings of guilt or self-blame towards self-acceptance and empowerment. By using EMDR, those affected by many painful life events can take back control of their lives and develop healthier coping strategies.
What are the benefits of EMDR?
One of the most significant benefits of EMDR is that it can help individuals process and integrate traumatic memories in a safe, non-threatening environment. This allows them to move past the trauma and on to more positive emotions and behaviors. EMDR has also been found to reduce symptoms of PTSD, including flashbacks, nightmares, hypervigilance, and emotional reactivity. Additionally, EMDR has been found to reduce the intensity of a person’s negative beliefs and emotions related to the trauma or painful life experience.
