Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing at Rockport Counseling
Are you struggling with phobias, anxiety, or depression? Do you have painful memories that you can’t seem to forget? If so, you may be a good candidate for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). EMDR is a type of therapy that has been shown to be effective in treating a wide range of problems. It involves using eye movements to help the brain process and release negative memories and emotions. If you are interested in learning more about EMDR, please contact me. I offer EMDR therapy at my office in Near Lakewood Ohio.
EMDR Explained
EMDR uses sensory input to help people cope with, recover from, and overcome trauma and emotional pain. EMDR has been in use since 1987 and is a popular strategy to treat mental health and panic issues. EMDR’s goal is simple: to unblock emotional processes that have been stuck due to distress.
Normally, our brain regulates our emotions by accurately perceiving situations and managing our memories of them in a healthy way. Trauma or psychological distress can interfere with our normal brain function leading to anxiety, panic, nightmares, or obsessive thoughts.
How Does EMDR Work?
EMDR therapy uses something called bilateral stimulation to help you overcome trauma and psychological distress. Eye movements are the most common type of stimulation used in EMDR therapy, but hand tapping, and audio stimulation can also be used. Bilateral stimulation simulates Rapid Eye Movement, also known as REM, that we experience when we are asleep.
The brain is very busy during REM sleep, analyzing the many situations and events that occurred throughout the day. When you’re sleeping in REM, your brain does the most complex processing it can. EMDR is the brain’s second highest degree of processing. The fact that the brain can digest large amounts of information while you’re awake is what makes EMDR so revolutionary.
In an EMDR therapy session, you will concentrate on a single upsetting memory. The EMDR therapist will start a series of side-to-side eye movements, noises, or taps as you do. When you concentrate on the painful incident while receiving bilateral stimulation, your eyes travel back and forth quickly, allowing your brain to reprocess the experience.
After each set of movement, you’ll talk about what came to mind during that session. Your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and images regarding the event may change. This is an indication of the reprocessing that is taking place. Eventually, the traumatic events or distressing emotions will become less disturbing.
