What is EMDR Therapy?
When it comes to treating post-traumatic stress disorder and processing trauma, you’re going to want to look into Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy or EMDR as it’s more well-known. EMDR is a form of somatic therapy that is a brain-body therapy that helps you reprocess psychological trauma by tapping into your traumatic memories - the ones that you feel “stuck” in - and helping your body to process the intense emotions and heal.
I offer EMDR therapy in Victoria for both in-person and virtual sessions. EMDR therapy relies on bilateral movements or tapping to decrease the hold that your emotionally charged memories and negative thought patterns have on you.
EMDR therapy and trauma
It’s no secret that people who experience PTSD can sometimes find themselves reliving moments in their past. These memories are the product of unresolved trauma and can be disruptive to your daily life. For some, these moments can manifest other symptoms in the form of anxiety and depression, making it difficult to maintain their day-to-day function.
Trauma affects your whole body. Your body may react in the form of emotional dysregulation, physical sensations, or behavioural patterns. While your brain stores memories or negative thoughts, your nervous system becomes hypervigilant to keep you safe from harm.
The challenge is that healing from trauma is not as simple as your body healing itself from a cut. Trauma is like a mental wound on your brain, and like with your body, your brain is constantly trying to fix it. Sounds like it should be simple, right? Well, when it comes to traumatic mental wounds, your brain doesn’t know how to process them on its own. So it does its best to protect you from these experiences by tucking the experiences away in a hard-to-reach place.
EMDR stimulates this tucked-away part of your brain, by having you focus briefly on the traumatic memory while also engaging in bilateral stimulation (eye movements or tapping). Engaging both the traumatic memory and the body works to reduce the depth of the emotions associated with the traumatic experience.
What to expect from EMDR therapy
Whether you’ve booked a session online or in person, my EMDR therapy in Victoria sessions will start with getting to know you. Because EMDR is not your traditional talk therapy, we need to establish the starting point, and I need to get to know you.
To ease you into what your EMDR therapy sessions will look like, here’s what you can expect:
Initial Sessions: Our first sessions are spent building trust and understanding your needs. We'll identify the starting point for your EMDR therapy process.
Regulation Techniques: I’ll show you practical tools including bilateral movements like tapping that help your nervous system find calm and balance.
Gentle Processing: We’ll work through specific experiences at your own pace to create new, positive pathways.
Movement & Release: Use specific movements to help your body and mind release stored tension and traumatic memories.
Pattern Transformation: We will reframe thoughts into new, positive thought patterns while challenging old beliefs that no longer serve you.
Body Awareness: Connect with and release physical stress through gentle body scanning and awareness practices.
Want to know if you should try EMDR therapy?
EMDR therapy is an effective treatment of both PTSD and trauma because it alleviates the mental strain of traumatic experiences by training your brain to respond differently to them. Through bilateral stimulation, like eye movement, we’re repaving the way your brain approaches certain experiences, making it easier for you to navigate them in the future.
If EMDR therapy is something you feel might be useful for you, let's chat in a consultation.