Hi there. My name is Tim Gilleand. I’m a therapist and clinical supervisor here at Crosswinds. Today I’d like to talk with you about a specialized type of therapy that we offer here called EMDR. When you think of traditional therapy, you probably picture two people verbally processing through issues and that’s very common, but for some more difficult situations, the idea of having to talk through that pain can be daunting.
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. With EMDR we can use eye movements, tapping, or vibrating tappers to initiate a right brain left brain response. With this bilateral stimulation, your brain can unlock its natural ability to desensitize and reprocess past hurt.
Think of it like when you get into deep sleep and you start REM, the Rapid Eye Movement. Your eyes dart back and forth initiating this bilateral response. When you’ve had a good night’s sleep you wake up refreshed. It’s like having a messy room and this response is cleaning it up. It’s deciding what’s important that we need to keep at the front of our mind to still process, and what we’ve done away with and can be stored away.
It’s been said that one EMDR session can simulate 30 days of REM sleep. The difference with EMDR is you’re awake and you’re able to focus on what you choose to focus on rather than it being random in your sleep. Your therapist and you will identify triggers and memories that you target with EMDR. You will work together to develop a negative phrase you tell yourself that you want to decrease and a positive phrase that you will work to increase.
When it comes to past hurts and traumas, it’s said that the body keeps the score. These things can get locked away. EMDR is a powerful tool we have that can unlock, process, and put away these pains once and for all. EMDR is an evidence-based treatment first designed for PTSD but has since been applied to numerous situations from anxiety to depression, addictions, even physical pain. We have several staff at Crosswinds trained and ready to help you find healing. Reach out today.
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