After the past 18 months, more people than ever are experiencing mental health issues. With more twists and turns looming, there’s a demand for flexible, proven approaches. But how can you know what treatment to consider? Is there something out there that works but perhaps remains a little under the radar?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing or EMDR might be what you’re looking for. It’s not traditional talk therapy. Based on a similar concept as Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, EMDR involves the therapist moving the fingers and hands within a patient’s field of vision. It may sound unusual but the results speak for themselves!
EMDR Basics
EMDR was initially designed for trauma survivors but has long since become a go-to treatment for a long list of conditions and problems. For example:
Anxiety
Panic attacks
Eating disorders
Sleep issues
Pain
Chronic illness
Substance abuse
Whatever brings you to EMDR, treatment begins with your therapist taking a detailed history. From there, you work together to choose a specific concern or memory to focus on. This is where the hand and finger movements come into play. You hold an image of your primary focus in mind while the therapist performs the movements. This combination of tactics has been found to empower the patient in processing their emotions. The negative feeling is processed and replaced with a more positive belief or thought.
Wait… How Does EMDR Work?
When a human effectively processes a traumatic experience, it’s about communication happening inside their brains. This communication occurs between the amygdala, the hippocampus, and the prefrontal cortex. But, anatomy lesson aside, the main point is that many traumas are processed and resolved.
Problems like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can occur if this natural processing does not occur. It’s as if the painful memory is stuck in your mind as if it’s still happening. The EMDR focus/hand movements approach triggers the brain to go back to the organic form of communication to resolve the memory and move on.
EMDR is so good at what it’s designed to do that even the Department of Veterans Affairs recommends for the treatment of trauma survivors.
3 Basic Reasons Why EMDR Might Be Right For You
1. Short-Term Treatment
Generally speaking, you’ll go through six to 20 sessions of 60 to 90 minutes in length. These sessions encompass eight treatment phases. Compared to other approaches, this is a very brief intervention. Hence, it has the added benefit of people not dropping out of the program. They remain motivated when they know they can attain sustainable results in such a short time.
2. Speaking of Sustainable Results…
Follow-up studies with people who have undergone EMDR treatment find long-term results. You’re not sacrificing the big picture by choosing a shorter round of treatments. This makes EMDR extremely rare within the realm of psychotherapeutic options. Brief treatment with enduring results is hard to beat!
3. No Side Effects
Medications can be very helpful but that progress comes with side effects. Typically, they also require you to stay on the meds to keep the results coming. As mentioned above, EMDR doesn’t require a long-term commitment. The only “side effect” to look for is a rise in traumatic memories during the first couple of sessions. In order to process such memories, this is necessary. Therefore, patients are told to prepare for some vivid dreams and even some lightheadedness when treatment first starts.
Reach Out to Learn More
EMDR is unusual and it’s to be expected to have plenty of questions. That’s what I’m here for. Reach out today to set up a free and confidential consultation to learn more about this unique and very successful form of therapy. To read more about EMDR Treatment click on this link.