EMDR Therapy

The Power of Memories

Some memories pop up at inopportune times and places. And we often shudder in shame and wish them away. It’s as if they are stains that no amount of scrubbing can undo.

These memories can interfere with the life you are living today as well. All the thoughts and feelings of past painful events and traumas get hauled up every time something reminds our brains of those events and makes the new experience more distressing.

We are robbed of the NOW because the past still needs to be resolved.

From THEN to NOW

Picture a five-year-old girl playing in the living room when Dad walks in the front door with an angry scowl on his face. She runs to her room to wait it out and see what happens.

She’s not old enough to consider how hungry he might be or if traffic was bad. He could just be mean again.

Jumping Ahead 30 Years

If we move ahead in time and this same girl is now a 35-year old woman, she sees her boss come in the office door with an angry scowl on his face (because he’s irked that he left his briefcase in the elevator). She might feel like hiding just as she did years before.

Her heart races and her skin starts to sweat. What seems an irrational thought such as, “I’m not safe,” might come over her. Fear, sadness – even anger – overwhelm her in that office just as it did in that living room years before.

It’s a different circumstance, but the same emotions, thoughts, and physical sensations still arise. Her past is interfering with her present.

EMDR Therapy in a Nutshell

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a therapy that was created by Dr. Francine Shapiro in 1987. Walking in a park, she noticed that her own eye movements – left to right and right to left – seemed to lessen the emotional distress she was experiencing.

Dr. Shapiro then gathered psychology colleagues together to pursue this idea of bi-lateral stimulation (right brain/left brain) and how it affects anxiety, stress, and health.

From there, the theory grew and has been scientifically studied and proven beneficial to all sorts of populations for years. Please see this link to learn more.

Your Brain Is Unique

Because your brain is as unique as your thumbprint, every brain works differently to reprocess those traumatic memories that are causing trouble by resurfacing in your life.

EMDR uses a variety of means – eye movements, hand-held pulsers, lights, audio/headphones, and/or tapping – to help the brain move the stuck memories. MRIs of patients’ brains before and after EMDR therapy show marked differences that lead to better mental health.

There is no hypnotism and no placement or destruction of your memories. Instead, many clients report the impact of the memories is lessened. There is no doing it “right” or “wrong” – no failure – because every brain is unique.

With EMDR therapy, you will learn ways to lessen anxiety and stress. The healing resides within your own brain.

Call me today at (210) 626-8783! Let’s walk together – at your pace – and begin this healing process!