By Melanie Froemke, LCSW, RPT-S, EMDRIA Certified Clinician and Consultant in Training (CIT)
What Is EMDR?
EMDR, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a powerful tool that can help clients make connections, heal from trauma, decrease anxiety, and see a path forward on their healing journey. EMDR accesses areas of the brain to prime for connections and can create shifts in maladaptively-held negative self-beliefs. EMDR uses bi-lateral stimulation (BLS): often hand-held tappers, eye movements, drumming, or other ways to cross the midline of the body and access both hemispheres of the brain. While guided by a therapist, EMDR allows the individual's brain to do the work- to make connections and to heal.
Is EMDR appropriate for everyone?
No. EMDR is not appropriate for everyone. Your therapist has tools to assess whether or not EMDR is appropriate for you.
EMDR is not suitable for those in acute crisis or ongoing, unstable situations
EMDR is not appropriate for those with high levels of dissociation (a clever way highly intelligent brains may have helped us get through traumatic experiences in our past).
Engaging in EMDR intensives requires emotional readiness and a willingness to do intensive work.
Collaboration with the therapist is essential to set clear goals and expectations.
What is an EMDR Intensive?
EMDR intensives are a way to approach EMDR therapy by offering extended, multiple sessions to process traumatic memories faster and more effectively. While intensive sessions are longer than a typical session (normally 45-50 minutes), EMDR intensives are tailored to the client's needs and goals. EMDR intensives typically vary from two to five hours or more, to allow intensive work and progress.
Is an EMDR intensive right for me?
An EMDR intensive session/path can be an appropriate choice for those looking for a focused, time-efficient way to address unresolved trauma, phobias, or anxieties. While regular EMDR sessions take place over several months or years in the context of an ongoing therapeutic relationship, EMDR intensives are conducted over a few days with extended sesssions. This allows for deeper, more connective and uninterrupted work in a shorter time span.
If you're working with a therapist at River Grove Therapy in EMDR, ask your therapist if they offer EMDR intensives. Contact us today at info@rivergrovetherapy.com to get connected to an EMDRIA-trained EMDR therapist to see if EMDR therapy could be right for you.
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