EMDR is a widely used therapeutic modality to help clients find relief from a variety of mental health complaints. It can relieve symptoms of both “big-T” and “little-T” traumas and help reframe negative beliefs, resolve unprocessed trauma and adverse experiences, improve energy and mood, and create a more positive understanding of the self and others. EMDR therapy can be used alone or with other treatment modalities.
EMDR is an eight-phase psychotherapy approach that helps the client tie current symptoms to negative beliefs and unresolved stressful events that have fueled and strengthened those beliefs.
A typical EMDR therapy session lasts from 60-90 minutes. It could take one or several sessions to process one traumatic experience. I do offer intensive sessions that last from 1 to 3 hours however insurance companies may not cover sessions lasting more than 55 minutes.
The goal of EMDR therapy is to re-process traumatic experiences that are causing problems and to include new ones needed for improved mental and emotional health. The amount of time it will take to complete EMDR treatment for traumatic experiences will depend upon the client's history. Complete treatment of a single EMDR trauma target involves a three-pronged protocol to alleviate the symptoms and address the complete clinical picture. The three prongs include:
- past memories
- present disturbance
- future actions
Although EMDR therapy may produce results more rapidly than other forms of therapy, speed is not the goal of therapy, and it is essential to remember that every client is unique and has different needs. For a PDF diagram of the eight-phase protocol, click here:
https://www.emdria.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/8-Phases.border.pdf