Therapy for Trauma, PTSD, Anxiety and Depression
This article is aimed at providing clarity around what you can expect from EMDR and explains some of the differences in how you may experience EMDR sessions compared to talking therapy. If you would like a more in-depth overview of EMDR please take a look ‘A Deep Dive into EMDR’ .
EMDR therapy focuses on all three prongs of life - past, present and future. We will touch on past experiences as a way for you to understand how these experiences influence behaviours, thoughts and feelings in the now. This awareness provides a platform for constructive change. You don't have to talk in detail about what happened in the past. Your memories can remain private if you wish. When we clear out memories that laid the groundwork for dysfunction, it is much easier to work with present triggers and predicted future scenarios. EMDR is not a band-aid, it addresses issues at the root cause so that we can heal from the inside out and change in constructive ways that last a lifetime, not just for the duration that we are in therapy.
As mentioned above, EMDR doesn't require you to share lots of detail relating to distressing events. The focus of EMDR is to uncover the learnings and beliefs about self that derived from your experience and understand how that all plays out in today's world. Typically, EMDR doesn't involve lots of input from the therapist, unlike talking therapy where you may be offered the counsellor's insight and perspective to help with sense-making. The desensitisation and reprocessing of traumatic memory enables you to make new associations by connecting with adaptive information already stored in the form of other memories and experiences. There will always be space at the end of sessions to debrief and reflect on any new learnings.
I appreciate that some people may never have shared their story with anyone, and that they feel it is important to do so - if this is you then we can explore how best to integrate EMDR into your therapy journey whilst interspersing talking therapy sessions as needed.
In the preparation phase of EMDR we focus on establishing the skills needed for the desensitisation and reprocessing phase of the protocol. This will naturally include some techniques aimed towards emotional stabilisation and regulation. With your permission, I will guide you through exercises that focus on positive resources and deepen your connection to inner strengths and existing positive memory networks, which may be currently be overshadowed by traumatic experiences. We will also introduce some form of stimuli in a slow, right-left rhythmic pattern i.e. butterfly hug tapping or eye movements, to engage and soothe the nervous system whilst mindfully focusing on the positive memory or resource being activated. This is known as 'bilateral stimulation' and is a main feature of EMDR protocol. You will be encouraged to draw on these resources in between sessions to create a sense of mastery, reinforce therapeutic gains and integrate progress more fully into everyday life.
It’s really tempting to want 'to get rid of' the here and now symptoms that cause emotional distress or unwanted behaviours as quickly as possible - that's how we often determine 'success' in the therapy room. However, symptoms evolve over time and form a part of our everyday functioning. These 'parts' of us will have started out with a protective intention in response to trauma or a highly stressful event. If we try to suppress, ignore or get rid of symptoms without fully understanding their purpose, this just causes more tension and conflict within our 'system' as it becomes fearful we are trying to make redundant long standing coping mechanisms that have been a part of our survival strategy. Therefore, in the early stages of EMDR preparation we will turn towards the 'parts' we experience difficulty with to understand them better, and learn where in our history they got their role. You may currently feel annoyed, frustrated, upset or even angry at the part's presence. In this internal family systems (IFS) informed approach to EMDR therapy, we turn towards our parts (symptoms) in a way that they probably haven't experienced before. We give parts that are struggling some space, and show them compassion and concern for the suffering and misfortunes they have endured. Our parts feel calmer when they are seen, heard and understood. As these parts relax back and loosen their grip, we can start thinking differently towards and about self.
The desensitisation and reprocessing phase of EMDR is where we begin to work with some of the memories that link to your symptoms. The pace of these sessions is client led, we will aim to always work within your window of tolerance and will not progress at a pace faster than you can emotionally withstand.
EMDR therapy encourages communication between all three hemispheres of the brain - the thinking, emotional and sensing brain. This allows new associations and connections that help bridge the gap between 'knowledge' and 'felt sense'. Talking therapy may help us to make sense of thoughts and emotions, to understand our anxious narratives versus the objective reality, but despite this we may still be left with parts of ourselves that can feel like distinct subpersonalities containing their own thoughts, opinions, feelings, and belief systems. These often don't match up with here and now experiences, even if they are healthy and positive, causing inner conflict and confusion. Here are a few examples, but you can probably come up with several of your own:
“A part of me feels hurt and abandoned by my partner after our disagreement, and another part of me knows they didn’t mean what they said and were just upset about a situation at work.”
"A part of me feels like I'm not deserving of this promotion, another part knows how hard I have worked to secure it"
"A part of me feels like a bad person, another part knows that I didn't intend to cause harm"
"A part of me feels that it's not right to put myself first, another part knows that some self-care right now would have a positive effect on my relationships".
Traditional talking therapies don't incorporate deep introspection at the same level as EMDR. Combined with an internal family systems (IFS) approach, during the process of EMDR therapy you will be getting to know yourself, and your 'parts-related' protective system, in ways that promote natural healing from the inside out.
I combine EMDR with internal family systems (IFS) talking therapy. This ensures that you not only find relief from your symptoms, but also gain important understanding of where they stemmed from, and how they have played a vital role in your survival. These approaches help us to understand and address the root cause of any symptom or behaviour and are particularly helpful for alleviating PTSD, anxiety and depression. Both EMDR and IFS are guided therapies, in that once we identify the problem to be worked on, I will then integrate relevant techniques and strategies to help you maintain focus and move towards your therapy goals.
EMDR follows an 8-phase protocol, which will be fully explained to you in the preparation phase. I will listen carefully to what has brought you to therapy and work with you to better understand your symptoms and identify a preferred future. From there, we will agree on a treatment plan. This is not set in stone and will be reviewed as frequently as is necessary to ensure we stay on track and take into account any new concerns that arise during the EMDR therapy process.
I offer EMDR sessions up to 2 hours in duration, longer sessions ensure adequate time for checking in, 'doing the work' and closing the session safely. We can work more intensively by doing more than one session per week, for faster relief and resolution of symptoms. There are no guarantees that we will completely resolve your symptoms, however, we will agree on a treatment plan that maximises the chances of significant improvement.
EMDR online sessions have become increasingly popular following the COVID pandemic. EMDR practitioners now have access to several forms of bilateral stimulation (traditionally eye movements) that have been adapted to working with clients online. I have only ever conducted EMDR sessions online, this is my norm and I've seen many clients achieve amazing results.
EMDR therapy is charged at the same rate as talking therapy, however if you want rapid relief from your symptoms you can opt for longer sessions. Please click here for a list of current prices. Ultimately, you are likely to need fewer sessions of EMDR than talking therapy as 'in session' progress is usually more accelerated and the processing of target memories usually continues in-between sessions too.
If you have a specific budget or number of sessions in mind, we can explore how to best make use of financial or time limitations, taking into consideration all types of therapy I offer.
Is EMDR therapy right for me? If, after reading this, you're still unsure, then please don't hesitate to email me at calmthechaoscounselling@gmail.com for more information.
