About EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) Therapy.

EMDR therapy has taken Portland, and the world, by storm. This groundbreaking therapy for overcoming trauma, anxiety and other issues is giving people like you another way to heal and has gained recognition for its remarkable ability to unlock the healing potential you already have in you that got stuck, overwhelmed or steered in the wrong direction. I mean, have you ever had the experience of knowing something logically but not being convinced of it emotionally? This is an example of an area in your life that might benefit from EMDR. For instance, you may know you’re safe in a grocery store but your emotions say you’re not and start to give you a panic attack. You may know you’re excelling at work but your emotions say you’d better keep it up or you’re going to get fired, get into trouble or be looked down upon. It’s soooooooooo frustrating not being able to convince yourself that you’re likeable, you don’t have to worry, and you’re safe now, especially when a part of you knows that’s true but another part of you just won’t believe it! EMDR is one of those therapies that helps line up your emotions with your logic, so you no longer have to convince yourself of what your logic already knows to be true.

However, in my opinion, EMDR is a little bit WEIRD! Or maybe I should just call it, different. Because usually when you think of counseling, you think of sitting (or even lying there) on a couch in an office talking about your problems. And you can certainly do that. But not when we’re doing EMDR. Instead, with this method, you’re following a light going back and forth with your eyes as you think about an experience related to your current symptoms. I know…different, right? But if you’ve been to counseling before and seen results that only take you so far, then different is GOOD. That’s the reason I got into EMDR-I needed something different and effective! And it’s so effective, I took the advanced trainings, paid for the required consultations and got the experience required to become EMDRIA EMDR-certified.

And I did it because I’ve seen it be effective, and others have too. That’s why you may have had a friend or two rave to you about it. That may also be why medical professionals and other therapists refer clients to me who need EMDR. They KNOW it works!

EMDR is a well-studied and validated form of treatment that helps to change the way you feel or think about experiences. It can also change beliefs, emotions and body sensations by changing the way the information is stored in the brain. Originally, EMDR was used as a trauma therapy. However, it’s been found to be effective for other issues. EMDR can be used to address trauma (including complex trauma and PTSD), negative beliefs you hold about yourself, anxiety, past negative events, panic attacks, phobias and more. It works on the premise that you aren’t born with the concerns or symptoms that bring you to therapy. The symptoms are influenced by experience. So your current experiences that cause you distress are being fueled by similar ones that were distressing to you in the past. To make it faster and easier for you to understand what’s happening around you, your brain often “matches” your current experience to past experiences that feel similar. That could explain why your “overreaction” is not actually an overreaction-if you consider that you’re reacting to the present situation and the similar, past distressing situations that weren’t processed in a helpful way or weren’t fully resolved. Therefore, you must reprocess and resolve the past experiences that your current symptoms matched to so you can effectively address the current issues you’re having. Makes sense, right?

For example, I remember my first time drinking a mango smoothie. I happened to be sick at the time but didn’t know it and so when I felt sick shortly after drinking it, the mango smoothie became associated with my sickness. It took me years to want to eat mangos again! My brain “matched” the mango taste to that horrible sick experience. Perhaps your brain is “matching” your current situation to a past experience where your parent taught you it’s dangerous to be in this world or you have to achieve in order to feel good about yourself. That can really contribute to anxiety, even if it’s on a subconscious level.

So if you want to be done with all those anxiety symptoms, flashbacks, and sleepless nights, schedule an appointment with me. Discover the power of EMDR therapy that has been recognized across the world and right here in Portland and experience the life-changing benefits for yourself.