EMDR Therapy

• It's effective. As therapists, we like to focus on therapeutic processes that have been proven to work. Numerous studies have shown EMDR therapy to be effective at treating PTSD and other symptoms of traumatic experiences.
• You may see results faster than with other forms of therapy. Some studies have shown that up to 90% of people who experience a single-event trauma show substantial improvement after three 90-minute sessions.
• There's less work to do outside of sessions. Many other types of therapy involve journaling or other activities to be done between appointments to get the most benefit. EMDR does not.
• It can be less stressful than talk therapy. Rather than discussing the traumatic event, EMDR therapy focuses on processing the trauma so you can move past it. 

Unlike traditional talk therapy, which has a more open format, EMDR therapy has eight specific stages that occur during treatment. Stages 4-6 occur in succession without a formal pause between them. 

1. History: Knowing details about you is essential for any form of therapy to be effective. Your therapist will ask you about your past trauma and help you to identify treatment goals. 
2. Preparation: This is when we'll educate you about how EMDR works and give you supportive strategies for dealing with uncomfortable feelings, like breathing or imagery exercises. 
3. Assessment: In what is likely the fastest assessment across all types of therapy, your therapist will ask questions to activate the traumatic memory and bring it to your awareness. This process can take as little as 30 seconds. 
4. Desensitization: Bilateral stimulation begins as you think about your traumatic experience. We measure your progress using Subjective Units of Distress (SUD) and work to decrease this level while allowing you to experience new thoughts, feelings, and sensations. 
5. Installation: After desensitization, we use bilateral stimulation to help you associate and strengthen a positive thought or belief with the traumatic memory until you fully believe it to be true. Your new thought doesn't have to be anything complex – "I'm safe." or "I'm worthy of love and respect." are great examples of positive associations with the traumatic event. 
6. Body Scan: Your therapist will have you think about your traumatic event and your new positive belief while internally scanning your body from head to toe, looking for any lingering negative sensations. If your body still holds negative physical responses, bilateral stimulation will continue until they are completely gone.
7. Closure: EMDR therapy can cause some intense emotional responses, so we must help you return to the present moment in a calm state. The session's closure will ensure you are ready to leave the office and return to your day. 
8. Evaluating Results: You'll follow up with your therapist to discuss your current level of distress regarding your traumatic event and how your sensations and responses to it are changing. If you feel confident that you are in control of the trauma instead of vice versa, you can move on to the next target memory.