EMDR FAQ

---

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) an evidenced based therapy that uses bilateral stimulation to help decrease the vividness and emotions associated with a distressing event.  It is a structured therapy that works by stimulating the brains natural processing.  You might notice a transformative response to how you think and feel about past distressing events.  You might also notice that you respond differently to present day situations and have a different perceptive of possible future events.  

At Transformative Therapy we’ve used EMDR to address distressing life events, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, substance abuse and addiction, grief and loss,  performance anxiety, PTSD, sexual assault, sleep disturbance, and OCD.  EMDR is also effective with dissociative disorders, eating disorders, and personality disorders.

EMDR differs from other therapy approaches in that it focuses on stimulating the brain in a way that allows it to perform it’s natural processing.   In EMDR therapy, you do not need to verbally detail the distressing event.  The transformation occurs as the brain processes the distressing event, and you start to feel, think and behave differently regarding the distressing event. For some, this transformation occurs quicker than with talk therapy and may have longer lasting effects.  

At Transformative Therapy, our EMDR session are 55 minutes in length.  We offer EMDR  in-person or virtually.  We follow a 8-phase treatment process that includes history taking, preparation, assessment, desensitization, installation, body scan, closure and reevaluation.  In reevaluation phase,  we focus on your new way of thinking, feeling and understanding of the past event, and how it currently impacts you and your relationships. 

From our experiences, a single disturbing memory usually takes between three and six sessions. More complex or longer-term traumas might take between eight and twelve sessions. 

For more EDMR information please visit EMDRIA