Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a treatment within the halls of psychotherapy that was originally intended to provide patients with relief from symptoms common with traumatic memories. Serenity Trauma therapists treating anxiety using EMDR counseling are able to help people access and process traumatic memories and any adverse life experiences while working with the inflicted to achieve an adaptive resolution. When patients have their first consultation, anxiety therapists will determine if EMDR counseling is the right approach for the individual, and will create a treatment plan that will help people heal from the symptoms and emotional distress trapped inside the body that was planted due to traumatic life experiences.
How does EMDR Counseling Work?
When people suffering from anxiety due to a traumatic life experience undergo EMDR counseling the affective distress is brought to the surface and EMDR counselors work with the patient to reformulate negative beliefs while reducing psychological arousal.
During treatment sessions, the patient focuses on the emotionally disturbing sustenance that has filled their body with trauma in short sequential periods while simultaneously attending to an external stimulus.
EMDR counseling therapists will direct lateral eye movements as the external stimulus which could include audio stimulation or tapping the hand on the body to help infiltrate the traumatic memory network to enable the enhancement of information that is being processed giving it new associations constructed between greater adaptive memories and information, and the traumatic memory itself. The new associations therapists bring to the patient’s awareness are designed to garner total information processing, eliminate distress, implant new ways of learning, and allow the patient to develop new cognitive insights.
EMDR counseling draws upon a specific protocol:
- 1. Processing past events that set the foundation for anxiety and dysfunction, and creating new associative networks with adaptive knowledge.
- 2. Targeting current matters that stir unrest while desensitizing all internal and external triggers detected.
- 3. The client is taught adaptive functioning skills using an imagination-based map of incorporated future events.
These steps are incorporated into a larger scale treatment plan to help individuals heal and recover from the anxiety that fills their body and thinking process that was brought on by disturbing life experiences.
What to Expect in EMDR Counseling Sessions?
EMDR counselling sessions are customized for each patient, but what’s common in all sessions is the use of eye movements during the session. After the EMDR therapist has pinpointed the unnecessary memory to target first, the patient will be asked to grasp various aspects of the traumatic event or thought embedded in the mind, and will rely on sight to track the EMDR counselor’s hand as it moves across the patient’s field of vision, orchestrated in a specific manner to garner the infiltration and the healing process.
Patients will usually begin to recognise internal associations that have ascended, and then, under the guidance of the EMDR counseling specialist, the patient can process the memories and feelings that bring on anxiety in a healthy, guided space.
This is when meaning from the traumatic event is transformed on an emotional level to take on a new meaning. For example, a victim of gun violence during a robbery can shift from feeling horrific anxiety and poor self-esteem from the belief they were weak, to embracing the ironclad belief that they survived a dangerous situation and emerged strong and brave. Patients can also expect accelerated emotional and intellectual healing courses that traditional “talk therapy” fails to offer.
Many patients walk away from Serenity Trauma stating that EMDR counseling empowered their very purpose in life that was once missing. Their emotional wounds have not only healed, but have transformed their ability to process feelings and thoughts that result in behavior and thinking patterns in line with full resolution and strong emotional and mental health.
Does EMDR Counseling Work?
Upon consultation with a therapist specializing in EMDR counseling, if the patient’s needs and condition are a good fit for this anxiety treatment method, EMDR therapy will enable the body and mind to recover from the all consuming traumatic energy. Numerous studies reveal that EMDR counseling allows people to experience the same psychotherapy benefits that once took many years to have an impact. Years ago there was a misconception that it would take years for people to recover from emotional pain. However, advancements in psychotherapy and innovative counseling techniques by Serenity Trauma Healing Center proves that one’s mind and body can heal from physical and psychological trauma at an accelerated rate with grace and ease.
EMDR counseling can be a more effective way to treat various people, with faster results, compared to past methods. This is achieved by identifying the stimulus causing the repeated irritation that’s causing anxiety and pain, and removing the block while administering appropriate healing techniques. The human brain’s information processing system is designed to naturally move towards healing light, and by removing the barriers to one’s natural cognitive progression towards the desire to prosper in wellness, the natural instincts kick in while being nurtured by EMDR counseling specialists until ideal mental health is achieved.
One study funded by Kaiser Permanente revealed that 100 percent of people who had a single traumatic event, and 77 percent of patients with multiple traumatic events saw a negative diagnosis in PTSD after six 50-minute sessions with therapists specializing in EMDR counseling. In addition, more than 75% of combat veterans were cured of their previously diagnosed PTSD in 12 EMDR counseling sessions. It is worth noting that EMDR counseling is recognized by the World Health Organization, American Psychiatric Association and the Department of Defense as an ideal therapeutic approach for treating PTSD, giving it worldwide recognition as a highly effective treatment method for anxiety.
Contact Serenity Trauma for More information on EMDR Counseling for Treating PTSD
When you call Serenity Trauma for potential treatment through EMDR counseling, a consultation will be scheduled with one of our leading EMDR counselors. If the treatment method is a good fit, sessions will be scheduled and a detailed plan will be outlined to help you achieve complete emotional wellness and a new found life purpose.
From history-taking sessions to learning stress reduction techniques, and from identifying the targets to examining progress and creating closure, your anxiety and negative beliefs about yourself can evolve into empowerment and total self fulfillment enabling you to live the best version of yourself as a powerful, happy and motivated individual. Call today, and take that first critical step to your new beginning.