If you’ve heard about it but haven’t researched it, you may wonder what an EMDR therapy program is. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is a mental health treatment that was originally designed to alleviate the distress associated with traumatic memories.
EMDR therapy facilitates the processing of traumatic memories to bring them to an adaptive resolution. When information processing is enhanced by EMDR therapy, new associations are forged between traumatic memories and more adaptive memories or information. After successful treatment using EMDR therapy, affective distress in clients should be relieved, along with a reformulation of previously negative beliefs and a reduction of physiological arousal. Are you looking for an EMDR therapy program in Florida? Contact Gulf Breeze Recovery Center today by calling 833.551.2304.
What Is EMDR Therapy?
EMDR therapy is a form of psychotherapy. It enables clients to heal from emotional distress and other symptoms resulting from disturbing life experiences and holding on to those traumatic memories. Developed in the late 1980s by Francine Shapiro, this innovative therapeutic approach uses bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements or tapping, to help process and integrate traumatic memories. Many studies show that EMDR therapy provides benefits to clients that would take years to achieve through other types of intervention.
It is widely assumed that severe emotional trauma requires a long time to heal. However, EMDR therapy demonstrates that the mind can heal from psychological trauma much like the body recovers from physical trauma. The process involves an eight-phase treatment approach, including taking a detailed history, preparing the client, and reprocessing the traumatic memories. Through this structured and supportive process, clients can experience significant relief from symptoms and gain a renewed sense of well-being.
How Does EMDR Therapy Work?
When you cut your skin, your body works to heal the wound. If a foreign object irritates the wound, it festers and causes pain. Once the irritating object is removed, healing resumes. In EMDR therapy, a similar sequence occurs with mental processes. Using detailed protocols and procedures of EMDR therapy, clinicians can help clients activate their natural healing processes. EMDR therapy is an eight-phase treatment:
- History taking and treatment planning
- Preparation
- Assessment
- Desensitization
- Installation
- Body scan
- Closure
- Reevaluation
Eye movements, or other bilateral stimulation, are used during one phase. After the clinician has determined which memory to target first, they ask the client to hold different aspects of that event or thought in mind and to use their eyes to track the therapist’s hand as it moves back and forth across their field of vision. As this happens, internal associations arise, and the client begins to process the memory.
In successful EMDR therapy, the meaning of traumatic events is transformed on an emotional level. Unlike other forms of talk therapy, the insights a client gains in EMDR therapy result not so much from clinical interpretation but from the client’s accelerated intellectual and emotional processes. A client may even conclude that EMDR therapy leaves them feeling empowered by the very experiences that once debased them. Their emotional or psychological wounds have not just closed but have transformed.
When Should You Consider an EMDR Therapy Program?
In general, EMDR therapy is often appropriate for people struggling with overwhelming traumatic memories, which can significantly impact their daily lives and emotional well-being. These individuals may also be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a condition that can cause severe anxiety, flashbacks, and emotional distress. You may also find EMDR therapy particularly helpful if you have difficulty sharing the trauma you’ve gone through with therapists or people close to you, as this method does not require detailed verbal recounting of the traumatic events.
EMDR therapy can treat trauma and PTSD. However, it can also help relieve symptoms of other mental health issues, particularly those intertwined with past trauma. For example, it can be beneficial for individuals dealing with anxiety, depression, phobias, and complicated grief.
This type of intervention may also be a component of comprehensive mental health treatment programs, especially ones created with a trauma-informed approach to care. Such programs can address the underlying trauma that often accompanies conditions like substance use disorders (SUDs), providing a more holistic and effective path to recovery.
By integrating EMDR therapy into these programs, professionals can offer a tailored approach that addresses both the symptoms and the root causes of mental health issues, leading to better outcomes for those in need.
Learn More About Gulf Breeze Recovery Center’s EMDR Therapy Program
If you’re searching for an EMDR therapy program in Florida, contact Gulf Breeze Recovery Center today. Call 833.551.2304 or reach out through our online contact form. We’re here to help.