EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
Sano Counseling Center offers culturally competent, sensitive therapists to help you through life’s troubles. Be at ease knowing your therapist is knowledgeable of social justice and diversity issues. Sano Counseling Center proudly offers treatment to individuals from all backgrounds, genders, ethnicities, religions, and sexual orientations.
At Sano Counseling Center, we currently offer a wide range of services, including psychoeducation, online therapy, counseling, addiction therapy, intensive outpatient therapy, group therapy, couples therapy, recovery coaching, and EMDR.
What is EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based therapy technique that was initially developed in 1987 to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and relieve psychological stress.
Through your EMDR counseling sessions, you will relive your past triggering or traumatic experiences in controlled, brief doses. Meanwhile, your therapist will be directing your eye movements.
It is believed that EMDR can be more effective for treating PTSD and other significant psychological stresses because it can be less distressing to recall these difficult times while your attention is diverted elsewhere by the therapist. Through EMDR, you don’t have to be fearful of bringing up a strong psychological response while exposing these memories, thoughts, or feelings.
Benefits of EMDR
Who can benefit from EMDR? If you have experienced trauma and/or find it difficult to talk about your experiences, EMDR may be an effective treatment for you. EMDR has proven to be effective in treating PTSD and trauma and has also been shown to have positive results in treating:
- Addiction
- Eating disorders
- Panic attacks
- Anxiety
- Depression
Our EMDR Services
At Sano Counseling Center, our EMDR therapy consists of eight phases, which means that you must be willing to commit to attending multiple sessions to complete it in full like most forms of treatment. Luckily, results may be observed after only 12 sessions.
Phase 1: Review History and Plan Treatment
The first phase of our EMDR will involve your therapist reviewing your history to determine where you lie within the current treatment process. During this first phase, you will also identify your trauma with your therapist and any other potential memories that might need to be evaluated during your treatment.
Phase 2: Prepare
The preparation portion of your therapy will take part in phase two. During this portion, your therapist will work with you to develop a series of coping techniques to help you face some of your psychological or emotional stress from your previous trauma.
Phase 3: Assess
Phase three is known as the assessment portion of your EMDR therapy, in which your therapist will begin identifying the memories the two of you have discussed.
Phase 4-7: Treatment
Phases four through seven will embark on your EMDR treatment, in which your therapist will begin targeting the memories of your trauma. You will be asked to focus on negative images, memories, or thoughts at this time while your therapist asks you to do specific eye movements.
These eye movements are known as bilateral stimulation. Once you have completed this portion, your therapist will ask you to allow your thoughts to go blank. During this time, you will describe the feelings and thoughts you are experiencing at that moment. After, your therapist will either move on to another trauma or re-address the same one.
During the treatment process, if you become distressed at any point in time, your therapist will gently guide you back to the present.
Phase 8: Evaluate
The final phase, or phase eight, will require both you and your therapist to determine and evaluate your therapy progress.
Contact Us Today
Healing is not a linear journey. Sometimes it can feel like a labyrinth that never ends. At Sano, we are here to walk the healing path with you, navigating all that life throws at us as a friend who cares. We will meet you where you are with acceptance, not judgment, and see you through until your time in therapy comes to an end.
If you believe that you have been traumatized and are living with stress from your experience, talk with a Sano therapist about starting EMDR today! Call, email, or go online to contact us today to see how we can help you embark on a journey towards self-discovery and growth.