EMDR Therapy in Pennsylvania
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
What is EMDR?
EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) is a type of therapy many people show interest in due to its profound impact on the ability to heal. The overall purpose is to help people heal from distressing emotions and symptoms that are rooted in upsetting life events. It is a common misconception that it takes a long time to heal from significant emotional pain. With traditional talk therapy, this may actually be the case. However, with EMDR, our minds have the ability to heal themselves from deep psychological trauma. You see, what happens when we experience a traumatic life event, our brain might not have the ability to fully process the event. When this happens it creates a “block” in our brain. When this happens it disrupts the way our brain ideally wants to work which inhibits our ability to live a full and meaningful life. EMDR therapy helps remove these blocks so your brain is able to function to the best of its ability!
"You are not lazy, unmotivated, or stuck. After years of living in survival mode, you are exhausted. There's a difference."
~Nakeia Homer
What to Expect with EMDR Therapy in Pennsylvania?
EMDR is more structured than your standard talk therapy in Philadelphia. Because of this, it’s really important to have an EMDR therapist who has been fully trained in EMDR. EMDR has a total of 8 phases that your therapist will guide you through.
Phase 1: This is where your EMDR therapist will learn about who you are, your history, your strengths, how trauma is impacting you right now, and to start building a relationship with you. This is also when you and your EMDR therapist will identify an issue you want to work on. Once this issue is identified, your therapist will work with you to select memories and experiences that are related to this issue.
Phase 2: Your EMDR therapist will talk with you about what to expect during EMDR therapy. They will also prepare you for EMDR by making sure you have coping skills to manage the intense emotions that may come during EMDR.
Phases 3: This is when you actually start to work on removing the “blocks” in your brain. Remember how in phase 1 you identify an issue and then memories associated with that issue? During this phase, you and your therapist will identify one memory to target. Your EMDR therapist will then ask you a series of questions to get information about how distressing this memory may be and what negative beliefs, emotions, and physical sensations are triggered with this memory.
Phase 4: Your therapist will guide you through sets of Bilateral Stimulation, or BLS, in order to start removing these blocks. BLS is when you stimulate both sides of your brain. I know that may sound scary, but don’t worry! It is actually pretty simple, you can do BLS in a variety of ways. The most common being Eye Movements. However, you may also do BLS through tapping and auditory BLS. The goal of this phase is to “desensitize” you to the distress that this memory initially provokes.
Phase 5: You and your therapist will have already identified a positive belief you wish to replace the negative belief that is associated with this memory. The EMDR therapist will then guide you through more sets of BLS while you focus on the memory and the positive belief. Once the positive belief feels completely true related to the memory, you will then move on to phase 6.
Phase 6: During this phase, your EMDR therapist will have you bring back the memory you are working on and scan your body for any sensations or tension, positive or negative. When sensations are identified, your therapist will guide you through BLS. This will continue to happen until there are no new sensations.
Phase 7: This phase is only used when the session is coming to an end but you haven’t completed phases 4-6. During this phase, your EMDR therapist will check in with how you’re doing and walk you through grounding exercises if needed.
Phase 8: This phase is only used when you haven’t completed phases 3-6 in a previous session. Your therapist will walk you through the memory once more and check in with how distressing this memory feels. After this phase is complete, you would then start back with Phase 4.
I know that was a lot to digest, but I think it’s important to outline so you are aware of what actually is happening during EMDR Therapy in Pennsylvania. Remember, you are not guiding yourself through these phases, your EMDR therapist is!
Why EMDR Therapy to Treat Trauma?
It’s an amazing way to heal from trauma without actually having to talk about every detail of your trauma. It’s a way to heal parts of your brain that are typically difficult to access through talking. It also has been shown that EMDR can be a more efficient way to heal from trauma than traditional talk therapy. Traditionally it was believed that in order to heal from trauma, you must talk about your trauma in as much detail as possible. The perspective on working with trauma has now shifted completely. The focus is how your past trauma currently impacting you NOW. Instead of focusing on your trauma in the past, we want to focus on how that specific trauma has impacted your nervous system. For instance, an individual who has been in a car accident could have a variety of trauma responses. A trauma response could be hypervigilance, flashbacks, and an increased heart rate.
Trauma Shows up Differently in Everyone
On the opposite end, you could also have a trauma response where you completely dissociate and disconnect. These are two very different responses but with the same traumatic event. We want to focus on the trauma response, or how your body responds to triggers, instead of the actual event. EMDR therapy takes this into account as a primary goal of EMDR is to improve the way past traumas impact your day-to-day life. In fact, one of the beautiful things about EMDR is you don’t even have to talk about your trauma(s) in order to heal as we are more focused on the emotions, beliefs, and sensations around the trauma, not the objective details surrounding the trauma.
“Forgive yourself for not knowing better at the time. Forgive yourself for giving away your power. Forgive yourself for past behaviors. Forgive yourself for the survival patterns and traits you picked up while enduring trauma. Forgive yourself for being who you needed to be.”
— Audrey Kitching
Can you engage in Online EMDR Therapy in Pennsylvania?
Yes! Historically, EMDR has primarily been done in person with a trained EMDR therapist. Prior to the pandemic, it wasn’t extremely common for people to receive EMDR therapy online. However, we all had to adjust when COVID-19 hit the U.S. in March 2020. Many therapists vocalized concern about whether they’d actually be able to provide quality EMDR therapy virtually. Fortunately, we were able to adapt and provide quality services through online EMDR therapy! Research also has found that online EMDR therapy is just as effective as in-person therapy.
Try Online EMDR Therapy in Pennsylvania Today!
Trauma is something we all deal with from time to time. In the past talk therapy was the answer. Now we have effective evidence based approaches such as eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy to understand its impact. Whether you’re dealing with trauma that has been impacting you over a lifetime, or from a big life event, an EMDR therapist can help. I am here to hold space for your experiences with no judgment. When you begin working in therapy with Revive Therapy in Pennsylvania, you will work with Hannah Guy, your online trauma therapist. When you’re ready to get started, follow these simple steps:
Meet your EMDR therapist, Hannah Guy
Become unstuck and begin moving forward!
Other Services at Revive Therapy
Don’t be held back by shame, guilt, and trauma. Its time to get the peace and healing you have been seeking. You deserve a space to talk through life events that may be holding you back. Whether this is your first time in therapy or you’ve been here before, I am here to help you meet your goals. If you’re looking for more support at Revive Therapy in Pennsylvania, I offer other services. This includes Eating disorder treatment, PTSD treatment and trauma therapy, treatment for binge eating disorder, and body image issues. Additionally, all services are offered via online therapy in Pennsylvania. When you’re ready for support. Call now!